Silent Hill: Resonance
by CommanderBreaker
Summary: Silent Hill's fog has turned to a demonic black to cover the town's shameful secrets and past. Jacob Ryan enters to see the aftermath of a town's broken and shattered spirit, embroiled in lies. But Jacob will find that the town itself is more deadly than its secrets and that things are not always as clear as they first seem. Every town has secrets…some are darker than others.
1. Prologue

**Silent Hill: Resonance**

 **Prologue**

 **BEEP! BEEP! BEEP!**

The ear-piercing squeal of the blasted alarm wrenched me from my sanctuary of sleep. My hand groggily flopped around on the nightstand in search for the wondrous button that would silence that godawful sound. When my fingers slipped over the button, the shrill sound of the alarm finally stopped and my eyes instantly burned against the lampstand on the night table. 6:35. I groaned into the pillow. Too early, especially for a Saturday, but things had to be done. I threw off my blankets, giving myself a couple of seconds to feel the cool, morning air brush against clammy skin. It was comforting as I almost fell back asleep, but I snapped out of it. Getting up and allowing myself a mighty stretch as well as wiping the liberal amount of drool off my chin, I dragged my feet across the gray carpet and bumped against my dresser.

Throwing off my underwear, I stumbled into the shower and turned the handles to allow the warm stream of water to roll down my back. The water was nearly scorching, but it felt heavenly against tired muscles. It didn't take much time for the steam to engulf the room and make its mark on the mirror. Resting my head against the tile on the wall, I nearly drifted off into sleep again before forcing myself to stand fully straight, "Come on, wake up!" I told myself, "What's wrong with you?"

I gave myself fifteen minutes to soap up, rinse off, and dry up, then quickly throw on a tank top and sweats before I made my way to the kitchen.

Making a full breakfast of pancakes, eggs, sausage, and toast, I divided the meal onto two separate plates. It'd been a while since I had cooked a complete breakfast, usually I did something fast that I could throw in the microwave, hopefully he'd like it. With that in mind, I turned to the old, white breakfast nook that was in desperate need of a new paint job and placed the plates on either side. I scarfed mine down while taking his breakfast across from me into consideration. Hopefully, it won't get cold by the time I wake him up… although I know he won't complain.

I took the last two bites of my sunny-side-up egg before glancing at the wall clock, just above the oven. 6:50. If I didn't wake him up now then the day would never get started. I stood, put my dishes in the sink, and promptly made my way down the hall. Across the hall from my room, I cautiously opened the door to find a large mountain of pillows and blankets on the bed. Underneath the dim light of the hall, I tiptoed in but the floor still creaked under my weight I shook the arm that stuck out, the only visible sign that a human was underneath the mess of blankets and pillows, and whispered, "Come on Joey. Get up. We have a busy day today."

Instantly, a mop of golden, brown hair popped out of the mess. He didn't say anything, as per usual, but simply looked up at me with those huge, brown eyes. _Funny…genetics_. How two brothers could look nothing alike.

His features were soft, mellow, with brown hair and soul-piercing, hazel eyes. They contrasted sharply with my own strong jaw and nose, black hair, and green eyes. We were two of four brothers, I was the second oldest and my brother, Joseph, was the youngest. He was twenty-four, and I was twenty-nine. And somehow…despite being brothers, him being only four years younger than I, I thought of him somewhat as a son. I took care of him, fed him, clothed him, gave him a roof over his head, and more. In return, he gave me a reason to get up in the morning.

I glanced at the clock in the kitchen again, 7:00. Joey was at the nook eating the breakfast I had prepared earlier with very little enthusiasm. It was difficult to watch him eat sometimes. Sometimes he would bring a forkful of food to his mouth only to tighten his lips and gag, only then for him to eat it shortly after…or lose his appetite entirely. I had the same problem, but I eventually grew out of it, Joey still suffered from it on an infrequent basis.

"Hey, we have to be there by eight so try to be all dressed up and ready to go by seven-thirty, okay?" I managed a smile as I watched him take a comically small bite from his toast. Joey nodded once in response. Ruffling my hand through his soft hair, I walked out of the kitchen to let him finish.

I made my way to my office next to my bedroom. Sitting in my chair next to my desk, I switched on my computer to see if I could get a little work done before I had to go. I worked as a history consultant, mostly for middle and high school US History textbooks. I would be interviewed on radio shows, podcasts, and documentaries for my perspective and view on historical events. It was a good job that allowed me to work from home so I could look after Joey whenever I needed to. Right now, I was writing about the Gadsden Purchase, which allowed the United States to take control of southern Arizona and New Mexico for the purpose of the Transcontinental Railroad. Looking back at my career choice, it actually made me laugh considering how much I hated history back in high school. I had actually wanted to be in the Marines, but… I had to take care of Joey.

Suddenly, the cordless phone beside the monitor rang, startling me from my reminiscing as I jumped in my chair and yelled. I glared at the phone, wondering just who in the world would call me at seven in the morning, but picked it up, saying, "Hello? This is Jacob Ryan," as politely and evenly as I could.

"Jake? Hey! What's up," came a familiar voice - my good friend Andrew.

All annoyances of early phone calling aside, I smiled and replied, "Hey, Andrew! Nothing much, what's happening with you?"

"You know it's the Fourth of July in a couple days, right? Listen, me and a couple of the guys are meeting up at my place for a small BBQ. Crack open a couple of beers, eat some ribs, watch some fireworks. God bless America, amirite?"

I sighed deeply, biting my lip in reluctance, " _Uh_ …You know what, man? I would love to, _but_ …I have to take Joey to Pleasant River for the Fourth."

"Pleasant River? Why?"

"They don't allow fireworks on the Fourth. You know how Joey is…"

"Come on, man! You can bring your little brother! We'll just give him some earmuffs!"

"No…That wouldn't work…You know the situation."

"Yeah, I do…damn. Oh well, have a good Fourth of July."

"Alright, you guys have fun! Save me some ribs!"

"Haha! Alright man, you know it! Bye."

"Bye."

After the call dropped, I took to replying to a couple of emails before I made my way back to my bedroom to change into something more fitting rather than a tank top. Throwing on a green, buttoned up shirt and some black jeans, I looked out my window to the foggy day. I could already see bits of frost building around the edges of the window and dark gray clouds in the sky. _Is it going to rain?_ I thought. I ultimately decided it would be best to throw on a light coat.

Joey was already dressed and sitting in the living room by the time I got out. "Alright, buddy! Off to Dr. Jackson's!"

Jumping into my dark brown Toyota Camry, I turned the key as the car roared to life. Rolling out of the driveway, I drove down the main road through Brahms. We moved to Brahms two years ago looking for a peaceful place to relax and not worry about the bustle and loud noises of a big city.

The fog was pretty thick, I could barely see the red, white, and blue streamers that hung from lampposts and posters advertising Fourth of July, and Independence Day sales that covered the windows of shops and businesses during the drive. Brahms was a small and quaint town, there were always signs of life and people and cars, but never traffic or crowded sidewalks. There was always enough peace and quiet, but there was always something to do. That's why I loved it here. However, right now, Brahms was devoid of life. Granted, it was 7:45 on a foggy Saturday.

The drive was pleasant, but we made it to our destination earlier than expected thanks to the lack of traffic. But I always loved looking through the side windows and seeing the thick forest of trees and wildlife, so I did enjoy taking my time getting there.

Finally making way to Joey's doctor's office in Shepard's Glen, we pulled into the parking lot and found a spot near the front door. We trudged in against the morning chill, and after signing Joey in for an appointment, I spent the next couple of minutes flipping through some trashy, gossip magazine until Dr. Jackson called us in for Joey's appointment.

I gave the doctor his symptoms: a runny nose, fever, dry throat, cough. He diagnosed Joey with the common cold and prescribed some medicine to help him out. It was a relief as I had thought that Joey had been getting worse.

However, as we got back in the placed his hand over his mouth, "Joey? You alri-"

A spew of vomit slipped through his fingers as he opened the door and threw up on the pavement of the parking lot. After the breakfast was gone from his stomach did he lay back in his seat and whimper. I felt his warm forehead, "You know…I'm going to take you home, I'll go get your prescription."

Joey nodded, knowing it was for the pharmacy was on the other side of town, so I'd have to hurry.

Walking up the stairs of the front patio of the house, Joey turned and sullenly waved. I returned the wave and started my way to the pharmacy.

 _I hope he'll be all right by himself,_ I worried, _he has my number! So if there's a problem he'll call-Oh no! Did he lock the door when he walked inside the house...No, I'm sure he did, he doesn't like leaving himself vulnerable. Damn it, he's fine! He's a grown man!_

Shaking off my concerns, on my way back to Shepard's Glen I decided to try an alternate route through Silent Hill. I always liked taking the more scenic route by the highway, but I wanted to get Joey's medicine as fast as possible. On my way back down the main street, the fog dissipated as an ominous swirl of storm clouds above obscured the morning sun and for a moment, I thought it was nighttime. Then came a downpour of heavy rain, it had come fast, in a matter of seconds. In response, I turned on my windshield wipers and quickly slowed down the car so I wouldn't go sliding on the roads as I made my way out of Brahms.

Traveling on the highway for about a couple minutes, something came into view…

WELCOME TO SILENT HILL

That was the sign I never got to see as the entire street was barricaded off and flashes of red and blue nearly blinded me. I slowed to a stop as I tried to make out what I saw in front of me. Police cars, as well as plain black cars were all parked behind a thick barricade of what looked to be steel grates. A blond gentleman, who was absolutely soaked, approached the car as I rolled down the window. Wincing as the water from above began to seep into my car, he drew near the window and took off his sunglasses to reveal green eyes brimming with energy. He wore a blue coat over a white shirt and black tie, with thick bold yellow letters on his breast pocket reading **FBI**. His hair was like a mop, saturated with water and thick globs of gel.

FBI…What the hell is the FBI doing blocking the entrance to Silent Hill? Despite the loud and chaotic rain, he spoke softly, "Sorry, we've got all of Silent Hill on lockdown. FBI and state police investigation."

"What's going on," was all I could manage to come up with, so distracted by the entire scene in front of me.

He simply shook his head, allowing some of the excess rain to fall on the upholstery of my car. "Sorry. That's only for FBI and Maine state police to know. I'm sure it'll be all over the news in a couple days…or tonight. You know the media."

"Well…I'm trying to get to Shepard's Glen."

He nodded, "Take a U-turn, and a bit back you'll run across a dirt road. That road'll take you to a highway that goes around Silent Hill… and one of the exits is Shepard's Glen. The second exit on the right, if I remember correctly."

I nodded, "All right, got it."

"Drive safely."

He walked away as I rolled up my window, my eyes followed him as he made his way to his previous location in front of the barricade. He simply stood there, as though he were a tree with mile long roots underneath holding him still. He didn't even have an umbrella. I followed his instructions by going back until I found the dirt road that cut through a mist of trees. A ray of lightning cut through the sky, lighting it up. A loud boom of thunder followed shortly after.

I pushed on the gas and went on the road, and from the second my front wheels touched mud, I knew it was an absolute mistake. I cursed myself for being so stupid and shortsighted. My back wheels sank into the mud as sludge splattered all over my car and windows. "Oh! Motherfu-Gah!"

The car was stuck. It wouldn't move an inch. I stopped the car and sat there with my hands curled tightly around the wheel in thought. I'm such a dumbass. I could call a tow truck, but with this rain, it would take the tow truck a couple of hours to get here. Slamming my hands on the steering wheel, I sighed and grumbled, "I knew I should've agreed to that roadside service."

Without a moment to lose, I grabbed my satchel in the back seat, filled with papers, my wallet, and a thick book for my work. I sighed deeply, knowing that stepping out in the rain and trudging in the mud was going to be ugly. Oh well, if the blond man could stand out in the soaking rain, I could walk through a little mud.

I did the math in my head and figured that the barricade should only be about ten minutes away if I walked fast. And from there, hopefully, someone would be able to help me, I'm positive one of the boys in blue would be willing to help me out. Protect and Serve, after all.

I opened the car door and stepped ankle deep in mud, immediately regretting every decision I had made thus far. I grinded my teeth as I felt the soft, runny and cold slop slide into my shoes and socks. Slamming the door, I locked it and shoved the keys in my pocket before I trudged heavy footstep after heavy footstep in the earth until I hit the solid asphalt. Looking down at my muddy and dirty shoes, I walked to my right, to the side of the road, trying to take cover under the brush of the trees.

What the hell was I thinking? Driving through a dirt road, in a storm!? That's the problem, I wasn't thinking. I walked as quickly as possible and even slipped up a couple of times, but I held my head low as my hair and my clothes washed out, "All I wanted was some medicine! Was that so much?" I asked the heavens in exasperation.

Then all of a sudden, the rain lightened, then turned to a sprinkle. I sighed in relief. Maybe God was watching out for me, although the sun didn't break through, and the skies were still as black as night, but it was an improvement. In the haze of the sprinkling, I saw the same blue and red flashing lights behind the barricade. I jogged to the barricade, holding my satchel strap like a purse, not wanting it to slip off. Only then did I realize it was caked in heavy mud, "Ah, damn it! This is leather too!"

I slowed as I got up to the barricade, a rather large barricade now that I was up close, despite the fact I was around 5'10 or so. There were about seven cars altogether, all of them flashing their lights…but…there was no one there. No FBI agents, no state police, no blond man… no one. Why would the FBI and state police set up such a large and intrusive barricade if no one was here to secure it?

Granted, I really doubt anyone with any sense would steal anything and be willing to jump a huge police barricade, but still…

Pulling myself over the barricade, which was pretty difficult considering its size and the wetness of the rain, I looked around for any sign of life…but there was none. I looked inside the driver side window of the Maine State Police cruiser, and there was a towel in the passenger seat. I hesitated, knowing how bad it would look if someone came by, but no one was here…

I opened the door, which was surprisingly unlocked considering there was a fully loaded shotgun and rifle sitting right next to the driver seat and reached over to grab the towel from the seat, hoping it would dry by the time anyone got back.

After drying off my face, I looked around once more…It was strange…It was as though…everyone was pulled out of thin air and left all their things behind. It made me feel…odd.

I began to feel sick, as though something in my stomach wasn't agreeing with me. I pressed my lower abdomen, but I tried to ignore it as I carefully walked from car to car looking for anything that'll give me some kind of sign.

I figured that it was about a thirty to forty-minute walk back to Brahms. Although the rain had reduced to a sprinkle, I still didn't want to make the long trek back. I had already wasted enough time.

…So without wasting any more time, I walked further down the road into the city of Silent Hill…


	2. Into the Fog

**Silent Hill: Resonance**

 **Chapter 1: Into the Fog**

 _Drip... Drip drip... Drip..._

An incessant, thin sheet of rain pattered loudly on the road, like millions of pins hitting the ground in an endless hail. My hair was plastered to my skull, clothes stuck to my skin like a second layer, and my waterlogged satchel grew heavier with each passing minute. Without a doubt, my satchel was ruined. Reluctance drew me to pause in my walk, looking into my soggy satchel to assess the damage. Sure enough, the inside was mush. Wet paper and saturated texts met my gaze, the water having broken them down to complete smudge. I groaned in frustration as I took off the satchel and threw it angrily over the guardrail and into the trees. _Well, that was money down the drain._

For a moment, I stood in the middle of the road, a slight shiver creeping its way up my spine. I'd have to find a replacement for that satchel… and those expensive books and texts. I sighed and shook my head.

As if to make matters worse, no matter where I looked a cloud of fog met me head on. For all I knew, I was going to walk off a cliff at this rate, but the rain and wet clothes were enough to encourage me to continue on, cliff or no cliff. I trudged through the rain, slipping on the pavement, for what felt like hours, and I wondered if I would ever find a hint of civilization. How long was this road into town? In a car, it probably would've been no time at all. Only then, when the thought of walking for eternity in a mix of rain and fog came to mind, did a small building materialize out of the sea of mist. It was sudden, how it formed out of the gray, my heart nearly skipped a beat when it came out so quickly.

I took a quick step back from it, catching the open sign hanging from the door as well as a store sign, "Judie's Shoppe." The building was small, incredibly so, and as I pressed up against the glass, it was completely empty, but... the sign on the door said " **OPEN!** " in bright friendly letters.

I took a couple of seconds to press my hands against the glass and place my face against the door. It was completely dark inside; no lights were on. But the sign _did_ say "open".

I hesitantly pushed the door, testing the truth of the sign, and sure enough, it was unlocked. "Hello?" I called out as the door gave an eerie jingle overhead, "Anyone here? The sign said 'open.'"

Stepping into the store I was greeted with a thick and heavy atmosphere, as though I were being crushed by gravity. To make matters worse and incredibly weird, the lights were off and no one was behind the counter. I shuffled to the counter, wet shoes sloshing on the bleached and cracked tiled floors. The counter was barren, nothing but an old and clunky register with a bell adjacent to it and a single, blank notepad and pencil off to the side. I simply stood there shivering until I decided to give the bell a few taps, but no one came out to greet me. Frowning, I leaned over the wooden counter, it creaked underneath my weight, and looked into a secondary room across from the register. The door was ajar just enough to where I could see stacks of boxes and crates but no sign of life. Looking behind me, I noted that there were five short aisles of groceries and a refrigerator of milk in the back of the store. I took off my jacket and placed it on the back of a chair. I turned then, catching sight of goldfish on one of the aisles, but slipped on the forming puddle at my feet. With a curse to mother nature in mind, I peeled off my jacket and set it on the counter. I felt bad for letting my jacket drip water all over the tile, but I couldn't find another place to put it. I would've pulled off the second layer of skin - my clothes - but felt it best to keep my clothes on to prevent myself freezing to death. Besides, only the jacket seemed to be dripping the most. If someone was in the store, I could always offer to mop up the mess.

I left the jacket for air drying and sloshed down the aisles. My stomach grumbled, it was only then I realized how hungry I was. _Didn't I just eat breakfast not that long ago?_ I picked up a small box of goldfish off the shelf that I had spotted before and a bottle of water. I dumped the box of goldfish into my palm gobbled them down quickly, following with a large gulp of water. Goldfish never qualified as a good meal, but it would have to hold me over.

I took my time walking around the store to dry off from the rain, taking in the sights of the dust and spiderweb infected corners of the shop. It was so quiet, even the rain outside didn't penetrate the silence. It was almost like the store itself was a vacuum, in a separate dimension from the outside world. The spell made my footfalls sound like firecrackers no matter how softly I stepped. It was creepy what with the pressure on my spine, the emptiness of the store, and the suffocating silence. _Isn't there anybody in this place!?_ I wanted to scream.

Trying my best to ignore the eeriness that continued to crawl up and into my skin like a legion of roaches, I looked around the store for anything else I needed. There wasn't a lot of options for food, I didn't see a microwave or oven anywhere nearby to make a proper meal; however, I noticed a small section dedicated to clothes, purses, and… _satchels_. I couldn't help but laugh at my luck as I picked up one of the bags from the peg. It looked practically the same as my old satchel!

Laughing at my newfound luck, and praying that it stayed, I made my way to the counter. I reached over and picked up the small notepad and quickly wrote down,

 _Door was unlocked and open. Took box of goldfish, bottle of water, and leather satchel. Paid $60.00. Sorry for the wet floors._

I hoped they could read my chicken scratch, but I hung around for about five minutes to allow my jacket to dry a little more. I picked it up and threw it back on as I walked out of the little shop. I felt kind of weird walking away as if I had just stolen from a poor, little, elderly couple, but I _did_ pay! Hell, I even overpaid!

A welcomed sign in the rain had stopped completely, and in its place came a thick heavy fog. However, this fog wasn't… _normal_. It was black and thick. Dark gray, as though the storm clouds in the sky dropped to the earth. So thick, in fact, that I could barely see more than five or six feet in front of me. To make matters worse, the pressure that I'd encountered at the store was back tenfold. It tingled, running down my spine like a million needles prickling my skin. The cold clung to me, making the shiver that ran up my body much more painful than it should have been.

I trudged further into the town with my arms folded against me in hopes to battle the cold that assaulted my body. My teeth involuntarily grinded and shifted against each other, I tried to force myself to stop, but my body didn't have the willpower. Surrounded by fog, I relied on the ground beneath me and the sound of my footsteps click-clacking against the tarmac. It was just my footfalls, noise that pounded against my eardrums, but as I continued on to God knows where…a second pair of footst-, "Freeze! Put your hands in the air!"

Startled, I did immediately as told and spun around to meet a familiar blond-headed man and the short barrel of his Glock. It took me a second in the haze of confusion, but when his finger settled on the trigger, I recognized him. He'd been the man who had talked to me at the barricade; the FBI agent in the jacket with the sunglasses. I stammered, "No! W-Wait! I can- I can explain! I know you told me Silent Hil-"

"Shut up! Put both your hands on the rail! NOW!" Again, I did as told. I turned slowly, cautiously to the railing that materialized out of the fog. It's metal froze my fingers, but I placed my hands on it nonetheless, ignoring the icy spikes of pain in my fingers and palms. He spoke with authority and austerity, not like the soft-spoken man he was earlier, "Do you have anything on you I should know? Drugs? Weapons?"

"N-No! Nothing at all!" My voice cracking like a pubescent teenager.

He patted me down in quick succession before drawing his glock at the back of my head, I gasped out loud at the shock of the cold barrel, "What the hell are you doing here," he inquired gruffly, "I could have you arrested!"

"My car got stuck in the rain! I couldn't get out... I-I came over here because I thought one of you guys could help me," I timidly told him, unease settling in my stomach.

"So why are you in Silent Hill!? Why didn't you get help at the barricade!?"

"Nobody was there! I look-"

"Bullshit! There were at least a dozen men at that barricade. I don't know what you're doing, but it can't be good. I'm not taking chances, not when we're this close."

Without warning, he grabbed at my hands and pinned them behind me. I felt the sting of cold metal closing around my wrists and heard a telltale click of a lock closing, "What!? You can't-"

"You have the right to remain silent. Anything you say can and will be used against you in a court of law. You have the right to an attorney. If you cannot afford an attorney, one will be provided for you. Do you understand the rights I have just read to you?" He said with a monotonous drawl.

He didn't look like partially strong or have any bulging muscles from what I had noticed, but he held my upper arm with an iron grip. I squirmed feeling his hot breath down my neck and against my cheek. He led me back from where I came from, walking in a brisk pace with large, wide steps.

"Damn it! I'm telling you! There was nobody there!" _PLEASE, God, just listen to me!_

"I personally counted! Stop playing stupid," he barked in my ear and I winced at the volume and anger in his voice, jamming his thumb further into the pressure point in the back of my neck.

I wanted to crawl back in my shell of blankets and pillows that I woke up from this morning. I wanted to _hide_. The man who seemed so friendly and calm had turned into a beast, like Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde.

I swore every curse word I knew. What the hell is happening? There was nobody there! Not a soul! And now I'm in handcuffs and- Oh no! Joey! What is he going to do? I can't go to jail! At the sudden realization, the sudden pain that boils up within me at the idea of Joey being alone, I become desperate and begin to plead, "Please! Okay, listen, I'm really sorry okay? But I swear, didn't see anyone at the barricade. I swear! I mean it. Listen, I have a little brother at home! He can't take care of himself, I have to take care of him! Please, just let me go and I'll walk home. The storm is over now, I can just call a tow truck! Please? Please! Sir, I'm begging-"

He cuts me off, "What…the…Hell?" We both stopped in our tracks and his arm on my shoulder went slack.

"Oh my God," was all I could manage.

There was no way to possibly explain it…the road _stopped_. It was as though the earth itself had opened up and swallowed the street into a bottomless abyss. It was… _gone_. We must have stared at the anomaly for about five minutes at least, inspecting the ravine, "I… the road was just _here_..." the man murmured, "M-M-Maybe we took a wrong turn in the fog…" He attempted to reason, bringing his fingers to his lips.

 _He's distracted, this is my opportunity to run and make an escape!_ But my feet wouldn't move, and neither would my eyes from the gaping hole. Besides, it wouldn't have been a very good idea anyway, considering my eyes caught the handgun in his holster.

He grabbed the radio from his belt and after a burst of static he spoke, "HQ, this is agent Jonathan Bennett. Uh…the road leading out of Silent Hill…is-it's-well…gone. There's no way to get past. Over."

Silence, "Hello? Can you read HQ? This is agent Jonathan Bennett, respond. Over."

Again, silence. Jonathan took off his sunglasses and hung them off his unbuttoned shirt collar, where I could see a bit of ink from a tattoo of some kind. He stared at me for a long and incredibly awkward moment before hanging his head and sighing, "I'm sorry. I guess I was a little… _apprehensive_. Listen, I'll uncuff you, but if I do…will you promise not to shoot me when my back is turned?"

"Yes, sir," I replied in relief.

He gave a nod of response and uncuffed me, while he did so, "I'm agent Bennett with the FBI."

"Jacob Ryan, but call me Jake."

He nodded again, trying on a welcoming smile before gesturing back to town, "All right, Jake, we're going to head to City Hall, on Cielo Avenue. Last I heard, the FBI set up a base of operations there."

Jonathan reached inside his coat and pulled out a well-used map that had seen better days. He unfolded it, the paper peeling wetly from the fog, "We're going to hit Midwich, then across Finney, cross the bridge, head down Crichton until we hit Cielo."

He handed the open map to me and I took it with a degree of hesitance, "Oh…Don't you need it?"

"You can be my extra set of hands," he turned away, eyes lingering back over the hole in the ground, "Something is wrong here."

Reaching behind his back, he pulled out his glock once more and started back along the road to my initial direction. "With me." He ordered and he began his brisk pace down the street, his boots echoing against the stillness with an urgency.

I stayed close behind, afraid I'd lose him in the thick fog. After a while of wading through the thick mist and listening to resounding footfalls, I built up the courage to ask, "Okay, so something is obviously going on here, something that is nowhere near being normal. A vanishing ground? Is that why the FBI and state police are here?"

He meekly laughed, "No, the FBI did not come because we had reports of streets disappearing. We're here because…It's a bust. A drug bust on the organized distribution of PTV all over New England, and it all traces back here to Silent Hill."

"How? How does a little resort town like Silent Hill have such a huge drug industry?"

"'Little resort town?' Maybe twenty-some years ago, but not now. They've been constantly expanding, building upon, and improving the entire city. It's always had a problem with PTV distribution, but it's never been this big, and now the corruption has gone up to the mayor and local police force itself. The businesses, the sheriff, the chief of police, the mayor, the hospital, the school board, they're all in on it. It's ruined the entire city."

"And what is PTV. I've heard of it before, it sounds familiar, but is it like cocaine or heroin?"

"Even more dangerous, I would say. It's made from the refined seeds of the White Claudia plant, which is indigenous to Silent Hill and causes hallucinations. It's really simple to make by yourself, that's why it's so difficult to stop it altogether. But the distributors use a special kind of PTV, not only with White Claudia, but they added something else to it, our forensics lab is figuring it out, but they've hit a wall. The drug is very addictive and causes memory loss, manic behavior, and if taken too much in a short amount of time, it could cause internal and external bleeding."

"And that's why you put Silent Hill on complete lockdown?"

"We've been trying to crack down on possible warehouses full of PTV. Warehouses, apartments, church basements, you name it, but we've always had interference from the mayor, the police, and the local people. They don't like outsiders except for tourists, and that's only if the tourists spend a lot of money. So we began investigations and got the evidence we need to arrest the city leaders on being in on it."

Looking at the map, I managed to figure out we were on Finney street and about to hit Bachman. On the corner there was a small convenience store, an 8/11. But something caught my eye, the window was cracked, a pipe lodged right in the center of the window, and looked to be on the edge of shattering, but something miraculously held it together.

Curiosity led me to stray from Bennett, across the road towards the store, "Hey! What are you doing?" He called, but his voice never really reached my ears.

I don't know why I was walking toward the pipe, but for some reason, it fascinated me how the window didn't break. I grabbed the pipe, its face warm against my grip, and pulled it, but it didn't budge. I put both hands on the pipe and tried again, but still to no avail. Third time's a charm. I spit in my hands and rubbed them together, then gripped the pipe and pulled with all my strength until I felt my muscles were all about to pull. Putting one foot on the glass for an extra push, only then did I feel the pipe shift in the glass.

Success! The pipe broke free from its prison, but with the support gone, shards of glass flew out. From the force necessary to free the pipe and from the glass scraping my face, I retreated backward and tripped over the curb. I caught myself on a lamppost, using it to spin around and land safely back on the street. As the slivers and pieces crunched under my feet, I drew my attention back to the pipe within my grasp. It was a three-foot-long lead pipe with thick cakes of rust surrounding the body leaving it a deep orange color.

I twisted my palms against it, testing the feel of it as a layer of rust coated my hands. It was simple and quick enough to swing due to its light weight, but it would do some damage. I stared at it for a long moment until I registered the silence that surrounded me. Right, Bennett. I looked up, half expecting to see an annoyed or confused FBI agent, but I was met with the same thick, black fog, "Err…Jonathan? Agent Bennett?"

 _Silence._


	3. City Hall

**Silent Hill: Resonance**

 **Chapter 2: City Hall**

 _Cru-un-nch . . . Crun . . ch._

I turned the map in my hands slowly, eyes glancing between the paper and what looked to be the Cielo, the street to City Hall. There was no sign in sight, no notification that the tall building in front of me _was_ indeed the city hall, but once I saw the black law enforcement vehicles, both FBI and Maine State Police, all crowded in front in a large heap, I knew I was in the right spot. You'd think these guys would know how to park properly… their cars were parked wildly in the streets, up on the sidewalk and plaza. There was no rhyme or reason, no uniformity, and no sign of people and I hated the fact that this was becoming the new normal. Remembering the road's vanishing act and the sudden spell of solitude, I gulped. Hopefully, _hopefully_ , I had just been seeing things… hopefully, I could find someone to get me the hell out of here. But everything in my body was screaming at me otherwise.

Pocketing the map into my satchel, I worked out the alibi in my head. I couldn't be too careful, after all, Bennett had tried to arrest me on the spot, "Okay…" I drew in a breath releasing condensation as I sighed, "My car was stuck outside of town, and I came in to get some help. I ran into Agent Bennett. He was going to help me with my car, but we got separated." No need to mention the broken road and how no one was at the barricade when I had come back from the back road. Hopefully, Bennett got there before me and already explained … they'd probably arrest him too if he told them the truth, who could possibly believe that? I tried to shove those negatives thoughts away.

The town plaza in front of City Hall was wide and expansive, with tiles of different shapes and colors covering the ground in a myriad of colors. I walked along the edge of it, eying the cluster of various reds and blues with a hesitant gaze. I half expected the plaza ground to vanish like the road too. Maybe it was the brightness of the tiles, how out of place they looked, or perhaps it was the unease that had settled in my stomach right when the road had disappeared. However, trying to push that all down to the lowest pit of my stomach, I attempted to admire the large tiles and colors.

I stumbled against large, wide stone steps leading up to City Hall, but as I ascended, my gaze still lingered. I didn't want to get my hopes up, remembering Murphy's Quantum Law: Anything that can go wrong will go wrong. _Especially in this town_. I understand that the place is on lockdown, but why aren't there any lights on in the buildings? Hell, why aren't the streetlights or traffic lights on? Why aren't their police or FBI cruisers patrolling the streets? Where were the people of Silent Hill? But I didn't have time to mull over it all once I reached the top of the stairs. Looming, solid oak doors stared down at me, their eerie façade making me throat dry as I slowly ran my hands against the heavy oak and the countless carvings and impressions, I pushed the door open. Again, I greeted with that thick and heavy atmosphere and a sense of foreboding.

Walking into the lobby, my face twisted in disgust. The discomfort wasn't from the carpet, a deep dark red, or the large crystal chandelier hanging from the ceiling, or the shelves of books decorating the walls, but it was the thick layer of dust that coated everything. It even coated the air, making me feel suffocated as I shuffled against the floor. I walked further on, my feet leaving noticeable footprints across the dusty carpet. I coughed liberally into the sleeve of my jacket. You think City Hall would've put their best foot forward. Of course, there was no one. This was beginning to be… _concerning_. No FBI presence was in this building...

"What the hell is going on here?" I asked myself.

"Nothing at all. And that's the problem." Came a voice behind me.

I spun around at the sudden voice, almost bumping into the speaker in the process. The owner of the voice—a man—was tall, not too tall, and he was dressed in a black blazer with a dark blue buttoned up shirt and jeans. An expensive looking black and gold watch with chrome trimmings sat comfortably on his left wrist. He had brown skin and equally brown eyes with perfectly combed hair and a five o' clock shadow as black as the night.

"Oh. I-I'm sorry," I apologized, "I didn't think anyone else was in here." Although, I'm not complaining. The sudden solitude left by Bennett had left an awful taste in my mouth, to say I was more than happy to see another face was an understatement.

The man merely nodded, brown eyes never truly meeting mine as he mindlessly flipped through a book that I hadn't noticed before in his hand, then promptly shut it and threw it on a desk not too far from us. It skidded across the barren surface with a hollow thud, sending a thick wave of dust to twist in the air. Straightening his collar arrogantly, his eyes met mine in an almost unspoken agreement.

"Lemme guess," he began, "You came here looking for someone, anyone! Hopefully a big, strong officer to protect you? Am I right?"

He spoke arrogantly and condescending with a deep voice, but I ignored it, "Uh…yeah. I thought the FBI set up a base of operations here. Do you know anything about that?"

"They were supposed to, but they didn't. Changed their mind. Our tax dollars at work, am I right? But I do happen to know where their new base is…" He pointed his index finger at me.

I was perplexed for a moment. Agent Bennett said for a fact that their base was at City Hall… but this man was saying different. Maybe they did change their base, and didn't tell Bennett? After all, his radio was out. It was a possibility, though a small one. I had no choice but to accept his words as truth, "All right. Well, can you tell me where their new base is then? I need to get home as soon as possible."

He chuckled, "Where are you from?"

"Brahms." I answered uncertainly, "I'm from Brahms."

"So… you're not from here, from Silent Hill? Any family here?"

I shook my head, "No. I'm from Florida originally."

"Good. That's a start… I need someone who's not from here. I need someone I can trust,"

Okay, that was odd. Someone who's not from here? "You only trust strangers?" I asked with no thought, scoffing as I finished the sentence.

He looked at me for a moment before turning on his heel, "I'll tell you where the new base is… but what do I get out of it?" Pausing at the door, he glanced over a shoulder.

The hell? How could someone threaten to withhold information in a time like this? "What do you mean, 'What do I get out of it?'" Anger colored my voice, but it only seemed to bring a smile across his face.

He turned towards me, his eyes wide, "Since I was a little boy, I wanted to be a venture capitalist. And venture capitalism requires a give and take. I give you something, capital, and you give me something in return, equity or interest on my loan, whatever."

"So _I_ give you something. And in return, _you_ give me the location of the new base? Okay, I'll play along for the moment, what do you want from me?"

Dodging the questions once more, "Exactly! You're smarter than you look! Walk with me!" Without another word, he pushed open and left the dusty confines of City Hall. I bit my lip, considering my options. I hadn't seen or heard from Bennett since the road… accident? To top it off, this guy was an asshole. For all I knew, he was some crazy serial killer, but since the FBI agent, he was the only other person I'd met in a town that seems devoid of life. With an exasperated sigh and a sense of desperation, I chased after him.

Leaving City Hall, I caught up to him at the bottom of the steps. He walked briskly, forcing me to match his pace, in silence, a lack of sound that I was beginning to detest, "Where are we going?" I asked.

"Alchemilla. You probably saw it on the way here. It's the hospital that's undergoing construction. They're adding some additional rooms and such."

"Right, the hospital?"

" _Mmm-hmm_."

I took out my map and looked for the hospital. It was on Koontz Street and we were just turning onto Crichton. All the while, stillness remained. It drove me up a wall so I took a breath and said, "So… What's your name?"

"Names are for friends… But since you asked, I'm Aaron, Aaron Anibal Trinidad." He pronounced his last name with a perfect Spanish accent, "Really, my full name is _Aaron Anibal Rodrigo Trinidad Martinez_. But that sounds too wetback, so _ooo_ …"

I coughed awkwardly at that, "Well… I'm Jake. Jake Ryan."

"I didn't ask."

I bit my tongue. I had to resist not saying anything I would instantly regret. I tried to take my mind off it by changing the topic, "So, Aaron. Do you know what happened here?"

"It was like this when I woke up this morning. I remember the sirens all throughout the night, but I honestly thought I was just dreaming. I awoke in an empty house, my parents are off in Moscow and I was home alone. But then I got ready for school and no one was around."

"You got ready for school? Like what? College?"

"Err… no. High School."

"How old are you?" I asked in surprise, when I saw him, I honestly thought that he was maybe nineteen or twenty.

"Seventeen."

"O-Oh." I said, trying to contain my honest surprise.

"I know, I look older, but I assure you, I am seventeen."

I cleared my throat and tried to look at him without looking weird. He really could have passed for older, the kid practically had a beard, "So… you live in Silent Hill? What's it like normally."

"Honestly, it's really quiet. Hence, _Silent_ Hill. Most of the little stores and shops are closed until the summer season when the town is absolutely packed. That's how the town makes money."

"And the drug trade?"

He staggered in his stride, eyes cutting to me, "What drug trade?"

I almost stopped, eyebrows scrunching together, "The… PTV trade. That's why the FBI and state police are here. The mayor and everyone in town was in on it?" Had Bennett lied? Was I going crazy?

"I have no idea what you're talkin- _Hahaha_!" He instantly burst into laughter, "I'm sorry, that was too funny! I couldn't hold it in! You should have seen your face! Yeah, the PTV trade! That's the real reason Silent Hill gets its money! You see, it used to be on the down low. Everyone kept real quiet about it. Then some idiots began to mass distribute that crap all over the upper eastern seaboard. Then came all the bad media. _Oh my God_! FOX and CNN and all of them were having a _field_ day.

"Bad media?"

"Oh yeah! Those ten kids from Pleasant River University? All of them overdosed on PTV, but before they did, they stripped naked and ran all over town and stabbed four people. That's what PTV does to you, Scrambles up your brain like eggs! And that drug bust down in New York, a moving truck _full_ of PTV caught by the DEA! Then the town economy tanks. We're scraping by, but barely. In all honesty, the townspeople thought the curse was coming back."

"'Curse'?"

"Oh yeah! You see… _way_ back when Silent Hill wasn't Silent Hill, it was acres and acres of farmland and mines. It was all owned by the Gall…Gip…Gill…Gipsey family? Something like that. And the townspeople used to believe in… You know what? Skip the history lesson! A bunch of bad stuff happened like the sinking of the Little Baroness and people thought the town was cursed. And then the curse went away, and then a bunch of bad stuff started happening again with the train crash in the Devil's Pit where those kids died and now this! And they thought the curse came back. But there's no such thing as a curse! Now, there _is_ such a thing as stupidity."

Aaron yammered on until we stopped in front of a metal barred gate in front of the hospital. Although the fog still loomed, I could still see enough to see a cluster of various construction machines and materials near the front of the building. Yet my eyes were drawn to the gate's padlock and thick chains, "Ah, gate is locked. Damn," I turned away, "oh well, let's go around the back to see if may-"

A loud, metallic _ping!_ filled my ears and left them ringing. I spun around to see the chains on the floor and Aaron holding a pistol in his hands, "What the hell? What are you doing with a gun! You're seventeen! Where the hell-Give it to me!"

I was angrier that he scared the crap out of me more than anything. It was bad enough he was seventeen-year-old ass, but an ass with a gun? Hell no. I stormed up to snatch the gun away, but I stopped when he pointed the barrel at my chest. I stared, unease from before turning into something akin to fear, "No." His voice was darker than before, "Now step away before I pull the _fucking_ trigger."

I gulped and did as he said. Only when I had retreated a good few steps away did he put the gun in the back of his jeans. "Don't worry. I'm trained. Trust me… You're just angry because even though I'm seventeen, my gun is bigger than yours. In fact, do you even have a gun?"

I stood there in silence as he laughed again, "Of course not… All you have is that little pipe of yours."

It was only then I realized I was still holding that same rusty lead pipe from earlier, "Oh… I-I just found it."

"What were you doing? Clubbing baby seals?"

He opened the gate and walked in the small courtyard. I followed reluctantly, feeling like some obedient dog, in complete shame in the fact that someone so much younger than me degraded me in such a way. Then again, I had no choice. Without him, I was lost. Gun or not… I needed to get back home.

Walking into the lobby of the hospital through slow, creaking, glass doors, I felt my whole body twist in on itself as that exact same pressure met me head-on. Aaron looked around the dingy little entrance that was littered with an equal amount of dust as City Hall, scattered plastic chairs, and a floor covered in wet and unreadable paper, "Sit here." Was all he said as he walked around the corner and out of view.

Again, I did as I was told. Like the dog I was.


	4. Dead on Arrival

**Silent Hill: Resonance**

 **Chapter 3: Dead on Arrival**

 _Tick. Tock. Tick. Tock. Tick. Tock. Ti-_

Tick tock went the clock. The large grandfather clock that sat on display in the corner of the lobby. Its front was cracked and covered in dust, but its face was the example of perfection. Not a speck of dust or blemish was visible on the clock face, this clock must have been donated, as I have never seen a clock of this fine quality at a sale at a normal store. However, despite the constant ticking and gears shifting, the hands didn't move.

 _Tick. Tock. Tick. Tock. Tick. Tock._

I sat on a saggy, old couch that groaned with the slightest of movements. It had seen better days. Its brown material was eaten away and slimy with God-knows-what, its cushions ripped and deformed with countless springs poking my ass. Yet the couch was nothing compared to the atrocity of the hospital's lobby. The walls were a barf green with a matching green and white tile floor. The floor itself was covered in a slime that was different from the substance on the couch, the floor slime was thicker… _wetter_. Like the couch, the furniture was old and torn, ripped fabric was the norm. An old newspaper from 2001 and a haphazard stack of magazines, with even a Playboy thrown in there, sat on the only coffee table that was still intact. I didn't know how long I sat there dwelling in the solitude and smell of mold, but I do know my lower body got numb and my legs were stiff when I finally stood up.

I sighed heavily, "Joey…I'll be there soon. I promise. I promise…Trust me…Trust me."

Stamping my feet around, trying to get the blood flow going, I looked at the reception desk with a grimace. I was hoping that the hospital would be different than what I had become accustomed to, that there would be people. _Where the hell is everyone?_ I paced along the desk, eyes drawing away to the lobby surroundings once more, anything to get my mind off the fact that I was alone _again_. Then I noticed it, a water cooler sitting in a desolate corner. It was only then that I realized how incredibly thirsty I was. My lips were chapped from the cold, and my throat burned from the heavy stench of mold. I went over and filled a little plastic cup to the brim with freezing water and gulped it down. Five times, five gulps of ice, and the dryness of dehydration still wasn't quenched.

Trying out the sixth cup of water, this time drinking it in gradual sips, I waited once more in a spell of silence. I was waiting for Aaron, but to be honest, I hoped that Agent Bennett walked through the front doors right now. I much preferred a jumpy agent with a badge over an asshole with a gun. Of course, the longer I waited… nothing happened. No one showed up at the doors. Bennet probably walked inside City Hall, discovered the building was empty and wandered back out into the fog.

The thought of venturing back out into the fog brought a shiver up my spine. The fog was suffocating, thick like blood and heavy like weights. The longer I wandered in that fog, the colder it got and the harder it became to move. That fog, it was unnatural… something out a nightmare, and it lingered. No matter where I was, I could still feel it brushing against my skin. I whimpered like a small child in fear, thinking of it.

A dull throb began to beat like a drum in the back of my head, pounding along with my heartbeat. It was an odd sensation, as though a worm were burrowing through my brain and skull, nesting and breeding.

I resumed in silence, swishing the remaining water in my plastic cup. The water wasn't helping the dryness in my throat, and waiting for Aaron wasn't helping my patience. The longer I waited, not seeing a soul in sight, the more I began to feel cold and breathless. Maybe thinking about that creepy fog wasn't such a good idea… I looked for a distraction and reluctantly looked back to the clock. My hand reluctantly reached for the solid wood, tracing the curves and edges with my fingers. This clock was definitely an antique, the wood had been specifically carved and prepared for this, I would say 1890's or around there.

What the hell, why was Aaron taking so long? Tired of waiting, I decided to look for Aaron myself. I walked along the side of the reception desk, discarding the cup on the counter before snatching a hospital map from a stack of disorganized papers. I quickly turned it around in my hands, grimacing at the dust that coated the paper before placing it in my satchel next to the city map.

No matter how far I ventured down the hallway, I could still hear the clock's incessant ticking. It got to the point that I began to step to the noise. Even when I came to a dead end, stopped by a door with a broken lock, my toe still tapped to the tick-tock. With a growing urge for silence, I quickly turned to the closest archway, a small examination room to my left.

The room was cramped thanks to a patient bed, executive desk, and shelves full of medicine. My shoes scraped loudly against the dirty, white tiles as I glanced over the assortment of drugs. Only when I'd bumped into the corner of the desk, breathing out a curse, did my gaze cut to the desktop. Like the rest of the hospital, the desk was a complete mess. Pens, wet and mold covered papers with chicken scratch, a busted monitor screen, God, this is a hospital, can they at least _try_ to be clean? On the corner, there was even a…a Health Drink!

"No way," I plucked it from the messy desk and turned it in my hands. Yes, it was strawberry banana flavored, my favorite! Better than that crappy Black Cherry that tasted like cough medicine. I looked at the text in the back. A small smile creeping up my lips instantly lifted my spirits, as though God above were telling me everything would be okay…Although I'm positive God wouldn't care about me.

 _Health Drink is a healthy, nutritious, and tasty drink to fulfill your daily need of Vitamin A and C as well as a healthy dose of Folic Acid and Iron. Made with real fruits and vegetables, Health Drink is the #1 preferred drink in a blind taste test among Americans! So listen to your health next time you want a tasty beverage and drink a Health Drink!_

Putting the Health Drink in my satchel, I walked into the adjacent room with a peeling sign plastered on the door that read _Medicine Room_. I was met with a narrow hallway and shelves of medicine, bandages, gauze, and other first aid items. I walked past the shelves to the door at the end of the hall but stopped when I spotted a newspaper sprawled out on an empty section of a shelf. The newspaper, unlike most of the stuff in here, looked relatively new, fresh. Almost as if it had recently been placed there. It was a small newspaper with an article circled, the dark, black lines of the marked circle had caught my eye. Leaning in I read the paper's fine print.

 _Silent Hill mayor Patrick Garrett resigns amid controversy under being charged for Obstruction of Justice, Tampering with Evidence, and Conspiracy by the FBI. Patrick Garrett is accused of sending local Silent Hill Police Department officers to purposefully destroy and alter evidence regarding the trade of the new drug PTV that's been hitting the markets. Garrett also ordered officers to harass possible witnesses that had intended to testify in court. Mayor Garrett is also being investigated for a conspiracy regarding the mysterious death of Thomas Gucci, a detective with the Silent Hill Police Department who was investigating the drug trade. Mayor Garrett's resignation is following the resignation of seven Silent Hill board commissioners who were serving as a part of the city council, police department, school board and treasury._

Wow, I guess Silent Hill _was_ getting some bad media regarding everything that was going on. What happened that allowed such a peaceful town to fall into such chaos? Maybe there was a curse affecting the city… No, that was stupid. Aaron had that right.

It must have been crazy to have the media running around town and looking into your personal information to report it to the rest of the country, having your personal lives and way of life looked under a magnifying glass, watching for even the smallest slip-up. Was Aaron lying? No, why would he lie about a scandal at this scale? The throbbing pain I'd received in the fog from outside came back tenfold, and it grew more pronounced the more I thought about what Aaron had said. I decided to keep moving on and keep an eye out for any painkillers.

Walking to the next room, I found that all the other doors on the floor were either locked or broken. Every door that I checked, my head throbbed even more. What the hell was this? I shook my head, rubbing my temples as I ended up in front of an elevator. Above the large, silver doors, a monitor flickered down at me with an erratic rhythm, easily matching my frantic heartbeat and throbs. Fuck, I feel like I'm going to have a heart attack...I hadn't seen any stairs… maybe Aaron was on another floor?

My stomach churned violently as I stood there, absently counting the seconds before the elevator display flashed, and I winced in pain. Breathing was becoming hard, painful, and it took all of my concentration just to try and breathe slowly. That water before definitely hadn't helped my throat because it felt like a desert now. The display above tilted, swirled, and I leaned against the button panel for support. God, I hope I didn't get some kind of stomach flu or something. I punched the call button, my thoughts dragging to Joey as he must be feeling sick if we ate the same thing.

The elevator dinged, more like whined, as the doors creaked open. I took a tentative step inside but stopped when the smell hit me. It was a wave of thick copper and a hint of burnt flesh. I nearly vomited when I found the source. Laying on the floor, against the elevator wall in front of me was a man. His head hung low, blood splattering the side of his head, chest, and the whole left side of the elevator. His thick, gray jacket looked almost red with the amount of blood. I'd never seen so much blood... I clapped a hand over my mouth, the tilting of my surroundings becoming more apparent. I'd noticed the bullets last, a swarm of bullet holes covered the man's front and the wall at his back. For a silent moment, I simply stood there, dumbfounded. I knew he was dead, his clothes and the walls were stained with blood, but I still moved, shuffled was more like it, and put my fingers on his neck… nothing. Hesitant, I leaned down and touched his hand only to pull back as if I had been burned. I might as well have been, the body was still warm.

Could Aaron have done this? He was only seventeen, but he _did_ point that gun at me and threaten to shoot. Damn… _He was still warm_!

I couldn't comprehend that this man, one of the few human beings I've seen in this town, was dead. Then it hit me like a freight train, no one was in the hospital. Not a soul. Out of all the places that there should be people, here and the City Hall…

This town wasn't under lockdown. This town was abandoned. I grimaced at the pain that dug harder into my head. Something wasn't right. That this town wasn't abandoned… It was more like… The people of this town were taken.

Something was wrong in Silent Hill.

Understatement of the century.

I looked back down at the dead man and tried my best to hold back the vomit when I caught sight of a small handheld radio in his left hand. It felt wrong, but I had to find something that could link me to any idea of what was happening, "I'm sorry."

I patted down his pockets, finding nothing but an empty wallet. Then I checked the jacket. His pockets had nothing except a set of unmarked keys, useless, but the inside pockets proved something useful, a handwritten note on paper. It was readable, but patches of blood covered much of the note…

 _Brother He-r-_

 _-e have a most s- problem, if what Lan— is saying is tr-e, then — must be —d. -'s a threat to us all and will ruin our —anc-s of s—. Everything th- been ha-en- in Si-ent H—l is no b- l-ck, it's a curse. A curse that -i- kill us all! G— is p—ing us all for our for—th-'s s—s. So H—ry, go and do —'s bidding. And you will be re—d-d in -ar-di—!_

I held and read the note in every which way, but of course, I knew I wouldn't be able to fully understand the note. And the parts I did manage to figure out didn't make much sense.

However, I placed the note in my satchel just in case.

It felt weird turning my back to the body to push a floor button, _Floor 3_. The elevator shook and rumbled as it slowly went up the three stories. I took a look or two behind my shoulder as the elevator rumbled and shook, as if I expected him to jump up and take a bite of my freezing flesh. As the elevator finally stopped and the doors opened, I heard an odd noise.

It was like a soft hum despite sounding garbled and disfigured. I couldn't put my finger on it. And it was close, very close, like it was in the elevator with me. I spun around but was only greeted by the dead body slumped against the wall. When the noise gave a subtle beep and muffled crackle, I realized what the sound was. The radio!

I picked it up from the dead man's grasp and not only heard but felt it bursting with soft static. Not knowing what to do with it, I placed it inside my inner coat pocket. Stepping out of the elevator, I remembered that the third floor of the hospital was under construction.

The walls were unpainted, a slate, naked gray, and the floor was covered with a tarp. Having witnessed a fresh body, I quickly continued on with a fire in my step. I headed down past double doors into a hallway that was less developed than the room behind me. Several pieces of the wall had not been plastered over yet, leaving exposed wood. Cans of paint were stacked to the wall on either side of me, and the only light came from the sky through unpatched holes in the roof.

It took a bit for my eyes to adjust, but when they finally did I slowly made my way down the hallway. I nearly tripped over a small step ladder. It was too dark to read my map, but thankfully I remembered that at the end of this hallway was another set of doors that led to an operating room. I figured with nothing to go on, it only made sense to look everywhere and anywhere.

Then, all of a sudden, the radio began to blare with static again, much louder than in the elevator. I held it in my hand and brought it close to my face so I could see the frequency it was set on. I couldn't see one, though, the screen was black, dark. I pushed random buttons as the static grew louder, "Come _on_ you goddamn motherfucking piece of shit," I groaned in frustration, releasing a little bit of my impatience. anger, and just everything that had been building up all this time.

Frantically, wanting nothing but silence, I pushed buttons, but again nothing happened. Then I felt a panel on the back side of the radio. It was hard fumbling around in the darkness, but I finally got it open. Feeling it out, I found two deep holes and connected springs, one on either end.

What… the hell...?

 _The radio had no batteries._


	5. Huh, Radio…

**Silent Hill: Resonance**

 **Chapter 4: Huh, Radio…What's Going on with that Radio?**

 _BUZZZZZZZ! FUZZZZZZZZZZZ! KISSSSSSHX!_

 _The radio had no batteries._ I banged a hand against the side of the radio just to make sure, but the static persisted. What the hell? How was this thing working without any batt-

 _Clank. Clink. Clank. Clink._

I froze, clutching the radio close to my chest. That sound… heavy footsteps on metal. Agent Bennet or Aaron, maybe… _hopefully_. I couldn't tell, I could barely see in front of me in this dark hallway, but I called out, "H-Hello?"

 _Clank. Clink. Clank. Clink._

The sound rang again, whatever it was, it was getting closer. It seemed that with each step, the radio static increased. Was it Aaron or Bennet? My heart dropped to the very pit of my stomach at the idea that it wasn't. I hadn't seen anyone else since Bennet, besides Aaron, so if it wasn't them then…

The air grew cold. A bone chilling cold that brought my body to a tremble, then the cold became hot. The sudden change felt like whiplash and the heat was so intense that I began to sweat in my jacket. With the rapid changes in temperature, I got ready to strip the jacket off, but then the cold came again, tenfold. Even if I wanted to take my jacket off, I may not have been able too. I was paralyzed, I wanted to move, but I couldn't manage to move my legs even a step behind me. God...The air was freezing but my I could feel the sweat drip down my forehead, my neck, my back, my chest, my legs.

With a shaking breath, I placed the blaring radio in my inner coat breast pocket and tightened the hold on my rusty pipe, "Who's there?"

 _Clank. Clink. Clank. Clink._

Then I saw it, a slight shift in the darkness. Panicking, I shouted out the first words at the top of my head, "FBI! Agent Ryan! Identify yourself!" My voice, shot with panic, didn't sound very conviencing.

 _Clank. Clink. Clank. Clink._

The sounds were close now, only a few feet away from me. Whatever it was, the sounds were starting to resemble footsteps. Footsteps could only mean... I sighed in relief, "Oh! Oh thank God! Another person!" Grateful for the sudden distraction, I walked toward the sound. Finally, maybe _this_ person could help me out and actually _stay_ with me.

The darkness was just as thick as before, but the closer I came to the sound, the more I saw who was making the sound. It was definitely a person, someone shorter than I, who seemed to be favoring their side with a limp. Were they injured, maybe that's why they couldn't speak?

 _Clank. Clink… Clank._

The newcomer stopped, and only when their footsteps fell into silence did I notice the radio in my jacket. It was a lot louder than before, buzzing erratically through a thick layer of white noise.

I reached for it, hoped to shut it up, but the figure groaned-more like gurgled. It sounded like a woman. "A-Are you okay? Are you hurt?"

The figure, or woman, only gurgled wetly. The thought occurred to me, could she be deaf? "Can you speak?" I took a step forward, but then the silhouette of its head _snapped_ to the side, like the body of a pencil being snapped in two. In fact, I could've sworn I heard a _crack_! At that moment, the air turned hot and heavy and with a restrained shriek, it rushed at me, limping as fast as possible. I shot backward reflexively but tripped over paint buckets that aligned the right side of the floor. I fell on top of them, the buckets stabbing at my backside, with a loud crash. It was a frantic wrangling of slimy arms and fists as it followed me to the floor. I felt a sharp point of what I could only discern as a knife being stabbed into my forearms.

I managed to push the figure off and blindly ran down the hallway, but I tripped over a piece of plywood and landed with a second loud crash. My hands scrambled on the floor wildly as I picked myself back up and smacked into double doors at the end of the hallway. Nearly long jumping into the next room, the hinges giving an ear-piercing screech. Frantic, I squinted against the darkness for a way of defense. Anything would do… then I saw it, to the right of the door was a rather tall shelf that I pulled in front of the door. It was heavy and it was a miracle that I could move it all, but I somehow managed. It seemed I'd done it just in time too as I felt the attacker run right into the door, the shelf moving back slightly at the impact. Soft pounding followed from the other side, but whatever it was, it wouldn't be strong enough to push it down.

 _I hope._

Feeling safe for now, I gave a deep sigh of relief. What the hell was that? I shook my head as my eyes finally adjusted to the light of the room. It was brighter in here, thankfully, and I took it as a chance to assess the pain that was beginning to crawl up my arms. Rolling back the sleeves of my coat, I caught sight of several deep gashes peppering my forearms. Blood had begun to drip from them, thick streams that wouldn't steady even when I wiped them away. In fact, it only seemed to make it worse. Although there was blood, the damage wasn't bad. The cuts themselves were not that deep, upon further inspection so there were no worries of blood loss. I just hope I didn't get some of a disease from the blade, "What a crazy person." I whispered to myself.

I turned my attention to the radio still in the coat pocket. It was still blaring although not as loud. I plucked it from the pocket and switched frequencies, seeing if I could catch anything, but its pitch and thick white noise didn't change. I shoved it back in my breast pocket as I pulled out my map again and examined it. Compared to the other room, this one looked relatively complete with a dim, flickering bulb overhead. To my right was a smaller hallway with a male and female bathroom and directly in front of me was a door with a sign at the arch that read "operating room." It was only then that I realized my goal. _Where the hell_ _is_ _Aaron?_

I figured I'd try out the operating room directly in front of me. I walked through the double doors to find a fully completed room that looked like it had been assaulted with a sledgehammer. The tiles on the walls and floor were cracked and missing and growing with a sickening amount of mold. The panels on the ceiling were dislocated and broken into pieces on the ground. The only thing that was relatively intact was the dim light that pulsed as it hung from the ceiling with a series of wires. The soft, almost faint light illuminated a rusted gurney that was shoved in the corner with bent legs and missing wheels. The once clean white sheets were stained with human fluids: Blood, urine, and feces.

I tried not to breathe through my nose as I inspected the busted gurney closer. There was nothing noteworthy here. Looking at the gurney reminded me of the one time I had to take Joey to the hospital because of a bad allergic reaction. I had paced back and forth in the waiting room until they had finally let me see him. He had been terrified that I wasn't there when he had been surrounded by a bunch of strangers.

Sighing, I looked at my watch…8:33…It was difficult to believe that a little more than an hour ago I was at my home with my little brother. It had felt like it had been _days._

I stood there, staring at the watch, and shut my eyes. I was just _tired._ I was so _tired._ My legs were sore from all the walking and I could swear that giant blisters covered the bottoms of my feet. I noticed how loud I was breathing, like I couldn't get enough breath in my lungs. I was attacked, but the results had just been a few cuts to the arms. Yes, I had ran, but I shouldn't be struggling this much. I wasn't out of shape, granted I also wasn't an Adonis with washboard abs either, but I was healthy _._ I couldn't understand why I was so fatigued.

Resting my hands on the bars of the gurney, covered in rust, I placed my full weight down. Giving my feet some time to rest, my fingers grinded and rubbed against the heavy coating. I stretched my neck and worked the muscles.

I shook my head and forced in a breath as I made my way to the operating theater to my left. Pushing open the double doors, I came to stop. The room was _completely pitch black._

Pitch black except for one thing…A bright spot of light in the very back of the room. It looked like a beam from a flashlight. I shuffled forward, hoping it was a flashlight. I took a few steps inside and then the doors shut behind me with a heart pounding _THUD_. It nearly made my heart beat out of my chest.

I continued to shuffle forward, my gaze attempting to see anything, but the darkness was too much. I could barely see the upper floor. It looked to be one of those viewing balconies that overlooked a surg-

 _CRASH!_

"Oh damn!" I shouted as I shoved what felt to be a small table on wheels to the side.

Surgical equipment scattered all over the floor, and the table slammed against something metallic to the far left of the room. _Well, I guess they're not sanitary anymore._ The series of surgical equipment had thankfully fallen into the rays of light, making it easy for me to watch my step and not slice my foot open with a scalpel. Finally, I made my way to the flashlight sitting on the edge of a sink.

Picking up and feeling the metal in my hands felt like I was holding a handful of ice cubes. It was a sudden feeling, one that made my whole body shiver and felt as though metal spikes pierced through my hands. Nevertheless, I held onto it for dear life as I turned around and illuminated the entirety of the room. However, anything not in the way of the brightness was completely obscure. I couldn't rely on my peripheral vision.

The room, to my surprise, was very clean, but something _smelled_ in here… Something really bad. Something like rotting meat and aged sewage in an iron lung. I hadn't even noticed it until I had picked up the flashlight. I had to put my shirt over my nose, it smelled that bad.

I made for the front door...

 _BUZZZZZZZ! FUZZZZZZZZZZZ! KISSSSSSHX!_

The radio resounded with the same resonance as it had before in the unfinished room. I instantly put my back against the nearest wall and held up my pipe in a position ready to attack. I frantically looked around the room as the static progressed, but the room was empty except for me.

Was something _hiding_ in here? If the radio was making the noise because of that thing from before… No, then the radio would have gone off when I came in; however, nothing came through those double doors, I would have heard it.

…But now that I think of it, I did hear a door open _from abo-_

 _SMASH! CRASH! CLANG! PLOP!_

Something had fallen from the second floor, into the surgery room. I pressed my back against the wall with even more force until I felt as though my muscles were about to burst. I didn't see what fell, but it had looked like a body.

The radio was going off again, like last time, with such a violent force that the only thing I could hear louder was the beating of my own heart. Yet it went immediately silent when a body flopped against the windows of the surgical room. A body getting up…Someo-A woman. I couldn't see her face past her greasy, dirty hair, but she was dressed in scrubs stained with blood.

She stumbled up, sliding against the glass as she tested every window. I watched in stunned silence as I caught sight of a busted open window that she was drawing closer to with every staggering step. Then I noticed it. In her bony hands was a large kitchen knife that looked like she had used _that_ to perform a surgery, "All right! Get back NOW! I _will_ attack you!" I bellowed in a deep and authoritarian voice that even shocked me.

My voice urged her forward. She found the broken window and ran toward me. In a wild swing of rust, pipes, and pants-wetting-fear I made contact with her squishy face, and was rewarded with the sound of a cracking skull. She fell to the floor like a rock and turned into a loud screaming and crying mess, "Oh my God! I'm so sorry! I'm so sorry! I didn't want to!" I apologized, even though I refused to move one inch from my stance.

Her hands slid against the floor as her wails turned into growls. The woman slowly got up and moved for the kitchen knife beside my feet, but I held my pipe like a spear and ran it through the mess of her hair. Her scream then rattled the windows and her grimy nails dug at my hands until the trusty pipe burrowed out at the back of her head. Her screams fell to blood chilling croaks as a flow of putrid, black blood poured from the wound. She twitched, gurgled, and her nails still plucked at my skin. I pulled it out with a _SHHLICK_ and tried not to vomit as I lifted the pipe and swung down on her head, crushing her against the tiled floor.

She stopped moving…The radio stopped blaring…

I stood there wiping tears as quickly as I could, "Gah! I fucking… _hate myself!_ "

I don't know why I felt such sympathy for that…Who was she? What the hell was she doing? I killed a _human being_. Her _blood_ was on my hands! I could _taste_ it in my mouth, feel it on my skin. I killed someone. The very realization forced a gag to claw up my throat, and I swallowed it with a violent cough.

I got down on one knee and looked at the body. Then I gagged again… _SHE_ was the source of the smell. I thought I was going to throw up for sure, but quickly gained my composure with another rough cough. I slowly brushed some of the hair away from her face…

 _It wasn't human._

I quickly backed away, "What, what? What the hell is that!? What is that _thing_!?"

I bumped against the operating table, which caused me to jump and let out another yell. I continued to stare at the body...My hands were _shaking_ so hard as though I were freezing to death…

…That's what this was…I was _freezing_. This room was _so cold_. This room was like ice, like an industrial freezer. I understand operating rooms must be cold to prevent bacteria but not this cold. I felt as though Death's icy grip was hugging my body. I forced myself to breathe…It was so difficult to do so.

I turned and ran out of the room. As soon as I crashed through those double doors did all my energy leave my body and I collapsed on the floor. I simply laid there passively, submissively. The ground was so _warm_ , welcoming, comfortable. The desire to get up, to move, to escape was within my reach but... I was so tired… God… Why was I so tired?

With every fiber of my being, I tried not to close my eyes in fear that this godforsaken room would be the last place I would ever see. I tried to think of Agent Bennett who was still searching for me, of Aaron who was probably wondering where I had gone off to…If only I could warn them of what happened…What I saw…

They probably wouldn't believe me anyway.

But then I thought of Joey…My little brother who depended on me every day to be there for him. Who would feed him? Who would give him his medication? Who would be there _to protect him?_ Thinking of that brought some of the warmth back into my body. It came from the inside, my heart was beginning to beat at its regular pace and it became easier to breathe. I forced myself to sit up, even though my entire body practically groaned with a feeling of numbness. Then I forced myself to stand on wobbly legs…Damn it! This isn't the end! I'm not going to stop here!

I growled to myself, "I'll get home…I promise!"


	6. Alchemilla Antipathy

**Silent Hill: Resonance**

 **Chapter 5: Alchemilla Antipathy**

 _Silence._

It was the loudest thing, the overbearing ring that pierced my ears. The silence echoed alongside my footsteps, making each footfall sound like a crack of thunder no matter how softly I stepped through the empty hallways of Alchemilla. If it wasn't for my footsteps and my breathing, I would've surely gone mad. This silence was _unnatural_ , heavy, and it acted as a cold and harsh reminder that I was alone. Although I suppose _that_ was a good thing. Nevertheless, I found myself craving company, even another encounter with that woman or the telltale static of the radio. As long as it would rid the noise of nothing, anything would do.

I wandered through the darkness with only the dimming flashlight as my guide. I had quickly found that the map was of great help, using it to mark the locked doors I'd come across. I recorded my discoveries in a way to distract myself from the pain. I had begun to feel slightly better, but fatigue still clung to my limbs and a pressure still settled beneath my bones. It made my throat feel like it'd been set ablaze, the feeling made me want to scream.

Screaming wouldn't be a very good idea so I tried to distract myself by narrating my progress. I probably sounded like a crazy person, but it worked, "so I'm walking down a hallway. I don't see anything… Yet, and it's relatively quiet despite my footsteps being loud as hell...Oh well, I'm happy as long as that's the _only_ sound…"

But the burn in my throat only enraged my desire to scream so I tried at singing, " _Now, hear the forest talking insects and birds. Does the scent of soil and beast bring the life into the animal you hide? It's a great illusion one never knows; when you think you're really alone, feel the eyes of someone looking in on you..."_

That hadn't worked so well either and I eventually settled into complicit silence. The damning silence that, combined with only blackness, would create _Nothing_.

The door leading to the hallway, the door that led back to the elevator with the dead man, was still blocked. I could use it to get back, maybe get the hell out of here, but that thing that I'd killed in the operating room… I didn't know if that was the same one that attacked me in the hallway. I didn't want to find out if there were _two_ of them. _God forbid_. Instead, I continued on to the second floor of the hospital, furthering my descent into the belly of the beast.

The very few windows that were scattered through the hospital were covered in thick layers of dust and spider webs, but wiping it all away revealed the black fog that encased the building. I could not see outside or into the streets. It was as though the hospital were in a separate dimension, separated from Heaven and Hell.

I'd stepped into room 205, having no choice but to go floor by floor and room by room. It would have been fine if it weren't for the fact that each damn room was smaller and more claustrophobic than the last. It was getting harder and harder to maneuver around, and that was _without_ a bed or a desk in the way. I squeezed by another bed, stopping at the _bloodied_ bedside railings. Unlike the other beds in the other rooms, this bed was covered with a fitted sheet that was void of any creases or fold. On the mattress' corner sat a thin, black notebook that had been opened and bookmarked on a page that was neatly written in cursive.

 _Agent Bennett will be in charge of setting up the barrier around town so no one can come in or out. Agent Gutierrez and Agent Lee will secure the warehouses where the majority of the PTV is stored. Agent Pendenski, your job is to find and secure the hospital and the White Claudia supply. Our sources say it's hidden in the basement. Remember, the White Claudia is…_

There was a web page tightly folded into the notebook's crease.

 _White Claudia is a perennial herb found near water. It reaches about 10 to 15 inches in height. It is rather distinctive due to its oblong leaves and white blossoms. The seeds of White Claudia possess hallucinogenic effects. Records show it was used for religious ceremonies by the Native Americans in New England. Other than that, little is actually known about the drug._

So Bennett wasn't the only FBI agent here in Silent Hill. According to this, there were at least four agents from the FBI. So Aaron _somewhere_ in the hospital doing God only knows what and agent Pendenski was - hopefully - down in the _basement_ looking for a stash of White Claudia.

I read over the page again, a thought coming to mind. Was that why Aaron had come here? Was he involved with the drug trade? Then another thought, was the hospital empty because of the FBI? Again, I found it hard to imagine them evacuating an entire hospital; however, if they were looking for a stash large enough, it was possible. But a whole town? What about the road, that _thing_ from the hall and that woman I'd killed earlier, and agent Bennet? Did they know what the hell was _really_ going on here? The more questions that came to mind, the more uneasy I felt. There were just too many questions. It made my head hurt.

I considered my options and concluded that my best bet at this point was to head down to the basement and find agent Pendenski. Hopefully, he could answer some of these questions, maybe even get me out of here. Then, Aaron, I'd have to find Aaron too, if he hadn't left the hospital by now. I cursed him at the thought of him being long gone by now.

I continued on, passing into another room before I was greeted with another set of stairs. Thankfully, these led to the first floor which was a welcomed sight. It wasn't quite familiar, but the fact that somewhere on this floor was a way out made me relax. However, when I turned on the last step, almost tripping on a new set of stairs, I felt the pressure against my bones weigh against me once more. The new set of stairs went down a sign before the stairs reading _Basement_ in grimy lettering that had surely seen better days.

There I must have stood at the top of that flight of stairs for about ten minutes to build up the courage to walk down into the basement.I didn't want to, I could easily turn around and find the door out of the hospital, but I had to. Even if the stairs led into another dark room, even if the air turned colder the longer I stood, I had to. I hated this. I hated basements in general and this one was no exception. Every basement in every horror movie was always the worst place to go.

My legs felt like stumps rooted to the ground, and I had to pull them up, one by one, to make my way down step by step. My pace was gradual as if I were stepping over glass or thin ice, but I descended nonetheless until I was face-to-face with another door. It had a small window that offered no promise of light here on out, and the knob was busted and rusty. With a dragged-out sigh, I pushed the top of my foot against it and it opened with a echoed creek. Just as anticipated, it led into more darkness.

I paused at the doorway to pull at my map, gulping when I discovered that the morgue was the next door down. I didn't look in its direction, the direction of the door that would lead to the dead and the smell of antiseptic, as if not looking at it made it so that it didn't exist. I looked down the hallway before me instead to see only one door fully opened, the door that led to the storeroom, according to the map. Curiously, I crept through the hall toward it, making sure to keep my footfalls as soft and quiet as possible just in case.

I slowly peeked my head in to see several shelves full of medication, gauze, and large gray lugs with unrecognizable names scrawled on the side. I carefully made my way in, keeping up my slow and quiet pace. Despite my careful walk, I almost tripped on another Health Drink. It was on its side, the label description facing up. _Orange Mango_ stared up at me, and I quickly picked it up, "Eh, not bad." I rotated it in my hands before placing it in my satchel.

I shuffled around in the satchel, making room for the drink, and it was then that something caught my eye. A filing cabinet was on its side, a portion of it blocking a door that looked to have been hidden by the cabinet. I eyed it for a solid minute before I tightened the grip on my trusty pipe and made a beeline toward it. Just in case, I raised my pipe behind me in preparation, my nerves on edge, as I opened yet another door only to be met with yet another wall of darkness.

The room was completely empty, the light only shining on an opened grate that led to… _more_ stairs. I felt as though I was already halfway down to Hell at this point.

I went to the edge of the grate and peered down the stairs. Unlike the all the other flights of stairs, these were metal instead of stone. No matter how hard I tried to be quiet when descending, the metal steps made loud _clicks_ and _clacks_ which made me wince with each step.

"Pendenski?" I called hesitantly, unevenly.

I reached the final step, my flashlight flooding over a floor made of metal grills. It looked like a chain-link fence except for anything beyond was pure darkness. Not even my flashlight could illuminate the blackness below. The room was aligned with old and rusted walls with peeling paint.

One door stood out amidst three doors that were covered with thick layers of grime and only God knows what. Unlike the others, it had what looked to be smears of blood on it. I hesitated at the sight of it, but curiosity was stronger than fear when it came to this town. I had to see what was going on, even if I feared and expected the worst.

I walked toward it and softly gripped the handle. Placing my ear on the door, I could hear nothing but silence… _Sweet silence_ …I pushed down on the handle and pushed open the door, but it got stuck halfway and left no room to squeeze through. I pushed full weight onto it, but it didn't even budge. "Come on!" I grunted.

I popped my shoulder against it, this time earning a squeak from the door as it dragged open. Still not enough. I placed my weight against it again, using my shoulder as I slammed into it once more. That seemed to do the trick as it swung open, causing me to wildly step into the room as a rusty chain crumbled underneath my shoes. I was met with the smell of decay and rust, the light shining against a mess of tables, chairs, and computers that were scattered all along the floor. The furniture was soaked in blood, the red substance coating everything in the room, even the ceiling. It looked like a massacre.

Mixed in with the toppled furniture were several, relatively blood-free, buckets and mops. I inspected one bucket, finding murky, black water and sponges that reeked of fresh bleach. Cheap, off brand cleaning soaps and bottled chemicals, sat beside each bucket. It was almost as if… someone had tried viciously scrubbing the floor and walls free of blood. If that was the case then this… this was a crime scene.

What the hell was going on here? Where was agent Pendenski? Hell, where was _anyone_? I grunted, irritation beginning to block out the fatigue and pain. I'd made to turn away and try the other rooms, my shoes just then squishing on a blooded sponge, but stopped when I'd noticed one last thing on the floor that had stood out amidst the gore and tangled furniture. I stepped toward it, cringing at the wet sound my feet made and leaned to pick up what _appeared_ to be a flower. It too, like the buckets, was untouched by the blood. It had a tall, thin stem, pure, white and oblong petals, and tiny seeds in its core. I turned it in my hands, the web page from before coming to mind. This was… a flower… a white flower… My God, it was White Claudia! I was holding White Claudia in my hand!

The stash that was hidden here must of have been moved. And agent Pendenski, they must have…

Then it hit me, a sudden and disturbing thought. The impressions from my footprints were detailed in the blood, and I was holding White Claudia in my hands in the middle of a crime scene. Knowing my luck, I'd be caught. Agent Bennet had suspected me despite my innocence so who's to say another agent who happened across this scene wouldn't expect that I'd made this mess? Plus, what if whoever had made this mess _came back_? I gulped then, clutching the flower tightly as I fumbled for the pipe I had set down momentarily on the floor. I had to get out of here _now_ befo- _BUZZZZZZZ! FUZZZZZZZZZZZ! KISSSSSSHX!_


	7. Like A Bat Out of Hell

**Silent Hill: Resonance**

 **Chapter 6: Like a Bat Out of Hell**

 _BUZZZZZZZ! FUZZZZZZZZZZZ! KISSSSSSHX!_

I felt my heart skip a beat while falling to the bottom of my stomach. With no hesitation, I held my pipe - my weapon, _my only friend_ \- as I slowly made my way to the open door that I had pushed open. I shut off my flashlight, engulfing myself in blackness. Whatever was causing the white noise, I wanted to see if I could get the jump on it.

Peeking my head out of the doorframe, I saw the dark silhouette of another _thing_. Was this one the same as the one that attacked me in the operating room? No… I could smell the stench of rotting meat, decay. This _thing_ was dead... I gulped and held my pipe with an iron grip as I slowly made my way out of the room. The monster didn't move…It just _stood_ there, twitching and snapping it's joints around unnaturally, and the atmosphere of dread filled my soul once more.

Did it even notice me? Was it blind without the light? I held my pipe as I slowly approached the creature, and it moved but not in my direction. It walked toward the other side of the hallway, making weird almost animalistic noises. It sounded like a snapping or clicking of somewhat, joined with an occasional gurgling.

It was dark, but I could see it holding _something_ in its hand. I took no chances, I prayed to God that this wasn't an innocent real human being, but after what I saw in the operating room…I couldn't risk it. I had no idea what other beasts this town had lurking in its shadow.

I raised my pipe far above my head and brought it down as though I were cutting wood with an axe. My pipe met with a hard skull that I must have broken and splintered into pieces judging by the disturbing splintering sound that erupted from the impact. The beast fell forward, head first into the wall as it screamed in agony. It was then that I realized that this _thing_ was a woman… or was. I brought my pipe down again on her spine and back, more splintering and snapping as my stomach churned in disgust.

She fell to the floor with a wet thud as I smashed my foot down on her head. Again, I heard the cracking and splintering of her skull as she groaned in pain and gurgled a foreign substance from her throat. One more boot stomp finished it off as the radio finally stopped.

I finally turned on my flashlight and sighed in relief as I saw it was indeed another freak. But then chills ran down my spine as I realized that there were _more of them_. This was no longer me going crazy or me simply having a bad dream…This was _real_ …These things were _real. God, I felt sick…_

In a second, I felt the warm bile claw up my throat. Breakfast and stomach bile spewed all over the wall and the corpse in front of me. I coughed and gagged when it finally depleted and I could catch my breath. The stench of death and vomit brought up more stomach bile, wrenching my stomach empty.

I simply stood there violently shaking my head in disbelief, "I have to leave…I have to get out of here…I can't…"

I screamed aloud, "GOD WHAT IS HAPPENING!?"

I had to release the building roar that was growing inside me. Although it was still there, I felt a little better. At least it didn't feel like my head was going to explode under the immense pressure and stress.

 _Creeeeeeeeek…Creeeeeeeeek…_

Spitting and scraping my tongue with my teeth trying to get the taste out of my mouth, I made my way up the loud, creaky steps from the basement back up to the first floor. I just wanted to get out of here…Forget all of this…I began to consider my options.

I finally opened the door and stepped back onto familiar ground of the first floor. I looked back at the hallway that would lead me to freedom, to the entrance of this place. I was tired of this hospital, so I moved forward, my footsteps resounding with a wetness from the recent gore. In my short time here, I found out something was happening and I, quite frankly, did not want _any_ part of it.

Nevertheless, I pieced all my evidence together as if I were a detective solving the case. The people of Silent Hill were _taken_ , _abducted._ The entire town was abandoned. And these monsters that were here…Did they scare everyone off? Bennett didn't say, " _Silent Hill is on lockdown due to the drug bust!...And the monsters roaming the town!"_

Of course, if they did know about the monsters, I really doubt they would tell people.

Walking through the familiar and narrow Medicine Room. Then through the exam room, I pulled out the mysterious radio.

This radio was very special, it could warn me whenever these monsters were near. I wondered what kind of special powers this radio had, was it possessed by some special magic? I had dabbled a bit in witchcraft in community college, but I had never done anything extreme. If it wasn't witchcraft… Was it aliens? I chuckled to myself about the thought of ET giving Elliott a crappy beat up radio.

I slowly opened the door to hear… _singing_? I listened closely, " _So now what should I do? I'm strung out, addicted to you. My body aches, now that you're gone. My supply fell through…"_

Recognizing the voice, I swung the door open violently to see Aaron looking through a binder on a desk. He didn't even look up, "Oh…" He said emotionless, "It's you…Thought I said to wait in the lobby…"

Being the smug asshole he was, he took his time tearing out some paper from the binder and folded it into his pocket. He acted as though nothing were wrong. I snapped, in frustration and anger and fear, the flood gates opened, "Where the hell did you go! Do you what the hell is going on here at this place? This whole town! Aaron, I _need_ answers!"

"Alright! Alright!" Aaron responded in the same tone, closing the binder, "I told you already. I'll explain everything once we're done here." He looked me in the eyes, "I don't know if I can trust you yet."

I crossed the expanse of the room and grabbed Aaron's wrist tightly and held it up, "Damn it! You brought me to this hospital for a reason! What was it? What aren't you telling me? I want to know! What the hell do you know about the PTV trade?" I nearly pleaded.

His eyes widened and his mouth slightly opened, but he quickly composed himself, "Now listen to me…Don't touch me like that, that's not nice." He said as if he were scolding a child. He quickly pulled his wrist away, "What makes you think I would know anything about the drug trade in Silent Hill? I could get some if I really wanted to, but I don't touch the stuff!"

Aaron grabbed the binder and walked past me to the room I had just walked out. He pointed at me with a big smile on his face, "But I do know a guy at school who sells really good weed."

He tried to play stupid again, but that wouldn't be enough, so I tailed him to the director's office where he sat at the big comfy chair behind the desk. He pulled out a ring of keys from his jacket that he sorted through until he found one that fit into a file cabinet built into the desk, "W-What are you doing?" I asked, "Seriously, what's so damn important?"

I reached and touched the binder he had thrown on the desk only to have his hand grab and nearly crush mine. He was _strong!_ He looked up at me, "None of your business. Now go wait in the main lobby like I told you to!"

I sighed in frustration. Biting my tongue, not wanting to make myself look any more of a liability than I was. I did genuinely believe that Aaron had something to do with what was going on, and I did believe he would kill me if I pushed too many buttons. But I spoke anyway, "Aaron…There's was a murder in the basement…I think…I think it was an FBI agent."

Aaron stopped what he was doing and looked up at me. It was from this angle, this lighting that I could see the full darkness of the circles under his eyes. He spoke in a decibel barely above a whisper, "….I know."

I responded with silence. The only thing I could do was bring my hand to my mouth and speak in a through my slightly opened fingers, "Oh my God…That's murder of a federal agent…Obstruction of justice…Destroying and covering evidence…"

It felt as though I had been sucker punched right in the groin as I placed my hands on my knees. I tried to think straight, but the only words that came to my mouth was, "Holy fuck, man."

I felt as though somewhere out there, beyond the cosmos and stars, there was someone writing my story onto paper. Looking down on Aaron and I and smiling at his concoction. This was bigger than anything I could possibly imagine, and I was at the scene of the crime for all of it. Then more words came out of my mouth, "Aaron…Did you…"

I looked at Aaron sitting there in the large chair, not moving an inch. He didn't respond.

 _Get out, get out of here NOW!_ I screamed to myself.

I hesitated for a second before abandoning the only other person in town, but I didn't waste any time running out of the office as fast as possible, past the rooms and to the main lobby where I pushed open those heavy oak doors and down those steps. However, while nearly stumbling down the stairs, I was greeted with something I wasn't expecting, "Sir? Sir!" A voice came.

I looked up to see another human being. A woman, with dark ebony skin and hair tied up in a big black bun dressed in an iron pressed Maine State Police uniform. Her large brown eyes spoke volumes, she was still full of fire and passion, but she was tired…But more than that…Her eyes were full of fear, "Excuse me sir!" She said loudly as she approached me.

I looked up at her walking toward me, and I was less than enthusiastic to be perfectly honest. It could have been all the stress or the fact that she held a pistol in her hands. I felt as though I were being taken hostage once more.

She finally approached me, "Sir, are you alone here? You can't be her-"

"Yeah! Yeah, I know!" I rudely interrupted, "The town is under lockdown! I'm not supposed to be here! What? Are _you_ going to arrest me now! Go ahead! Please! I'm _begging_ to be arrested! Take me out of this shithole! _**PLEASE GOD LET HER ARREST ME**_ _!"_ I shouted, flailed my arms as I looked up to plead to the heavens.

I was annoyed. I was irritated. I was _scared shitless_. I broke. I didn't know what was happening and I was _scared_. I just wanted to go home.

"What's your name?" She simply asked with a stern voice, almost like a scolding teacher.

"Jacob Ryan…Jake…Whatever."

She sighed, "Listen Jake, if I met you a couple hours before, I would agree with every word you've said and take you down to the crossbar hotel for the night. But now…Everything's changed…This town…It's…." she trailed off.

That immediately peaked my interest. _Finally_! Someone who has some idea of what's happening! Even if she didn't know the answers, at least she'll be someone to bounce ideas off, "Everyone's gone…The entire hospital was abandoned…Something's wrong here in Silent Hill."

She nodded eagerly, "You're right…We had a huge deployment of officers and FBI agents here and they're all gone. I've been trying to reach anybody, but I can't! And all the roads out of town…They're… _Gone_ …"

I sighed, " _ALL_ the roads? You're positive?"

"All of them. There's no way out…Every road that led out of town has vanished. We're stuck here. I know the FBI brought a helicopter with them, but our intel states they landed it on the roof of Brookhaven Hospital, and that's on the other side of the lake."

Silence slipped greedily between the two of us. Damn it. Damn it! How am I supposed to get to Joey!? I had a million thoughts rushing through my head at once, my fingers trembling on my pipe as I wrestled with the mix of emotions, then I spoke, "I was actually with an FBI agent here in Silent Hill before we got split up. Agent Bennett, you know him?"

Her eyes instantly lit up, "Agent Bennett is still here? That's good. He's got a calm head, he can help us. You know we set up a base of operations in City Hall?"

"It was moved," I informed her.

She looked at me strangely, "No…No it wasn't! I was there a couple minutes ago. It was all set up, but nobody was there."

I groaned in frustration, I was stupid enough to believe Aaron's words. Leave it up to Aaron to lie to me… then again I should've expected it. But I was starting to feel better…I was gaining hope again that we have an idea of what was going on, "Listen," she continued, "Why don't you head to City Hall? I'm going to scour this side of town to see if there's anybody here. Just stay there! Don't move! I'll be back in an hour."

I nodded, "I'll do that. Thank you…By the way, what's your name?"

She laughed, "Sorry! I forgot! I'm Myra Collard. I was here with the state police during the bust."

I nodded, "Alright, I'll make my way to City Hall and see if anyone else shows up."

"It's a plan."

She nodded as she moved further into the fog and I simply stood there. I nodded to myself, "I'll find a way." I walked into the fog… my footfalls resounding with a wetness from earlier gore.


	8. Battle Plans

**Silent Hill: Resonance**

 **Chapter 7: Battle Plans**

 _Clip clop. Clip clop. Clip clop._

The familiar sound of me stepping up the concrete steps to City Hall sounded once again, echoing across the vast and open plaza that I had crossed before. The sounds drowned out my inward prayer to God that someone was here, and even if no one was, at least Officer Collard would be back shortly.

Since I've entered this city, everything felt like a blur. It took all the mental capacity I had to remember what happened only ten minutes ago. In fact, I could barely even recall what happened the first time I entered this building. God…I felt so disoriented, like I wasn't in my body, I wasn't in my right mental state.

Taking a deep breath of the frosty air before pushing open the heavy oak doors, I was once again met with that _old familiar feeling_. The pressure of the entire world was compressed indoors, the pressure that weighed down on my chest and made it hard to breathe. The pressure that made it felt as though my head were splitting down the middle like a ripe melon.

The place hadn't changed in the short time I had left with Aaron. The carpet was still dirty and stained. Those shelves of books decorated the walls covered in that heavy layer of dust. Thinking about it, it was odd that such an ugly place would be chosen to be the city hall. And once it was chosen, why would they wait so long to everything to fall into this state to clean it?

Maybe everyone had been gone longer than I thought. Looking by how thick the cakes of dust were, it had to have been a couple of weeks. Maybe…Maybe _that's_ why the FBI was here, and not the drugs. I quickly shook the idea away, I had no time for conspiracy theories. Besides, the FBI was my best chance to get the hell out of here.

I walked over to the small coffee table in the corner, the book that Aaron had carelessly tossed was still sitting there. Curious to what he was reading, I peered at the cover. _The New Age of Occultism._ My fingers slowly traced the etchings of the front cover, the pentagram and countless devils.

I raised an eyebrow and picked up the book. A bookmark was placed randomly in the center of the heavy thick assortment of pages. I opened the book to see huge walls of small texts and pictures of odd symbols and rituals. Looking at the several runes, texts, and chants made me feel uneasy. I kind of felt an urge to throw this book in a roaring fire.

Why the hell would this be in a place like City Hall? Why the hell would Aaron be reading this? However, just as I was about to close the book and put it down for good, a quick skim of the tiny text served to show the words, "White Claudia".

I squinted in closer to read the paragraph,

 _White Claudia, the plant home to Silent Hill and specifically Toluca Lake, was used by the native Indians in the region as a part of their magic rituals to contact The Other Side and their rituals to the Old Gods. Although the plant is well known to cause hallucinations,_ _the Native Americans, and many niche markets today, believe it strengthens_ _spiritual awareness_ _, weakening one's personal barriers between reality and the Other Side_ _._ _A lucrative market of exporting White Claudia across North America has connections to these Indian roots._

Looking at the book some more, nothing more about White Claudia beyond that one paragraph. And I didn't want to hold this scary-looking tome any more.

I shut the book closed and put it down on the table. Walking back to the center of the room, everything looked the same except for one difference. A door in the corner of the room was now open. Walking towards the door and peering in revealed an impressive setup of laptops, radios, and maps with several markings. In the center of the room was a large map of the entirety of Silent Hill with many markings of question marks and circles. _This_ was the FBI base. I was stupid, I should've looked harder instead of believing Aaron right off the bat.

I leaned in towards the map and inspected it. Alchemilla and the West and East Garage on the lake's coast had been circled in red ink. However, dozens of marks in black ink dotted the map as well and looked to be a recent addition. These additions consisted of ugly marks that crossed off streets and interstates, large X's took over entire blocks.

The sound of a toilet flushing brought me out of thought as the door opened and a shocked voice, "Jake!?"

I turned to see the stunned expression of Agent Bennett. His FBI coat was off, showing his buttoned-up shirt and messy tie. Spots of blood remained splattered on his ribcage area and his sleeves were rolled up, "Jonathon." I said back.

"Jesus Christ, man. What the hell happened? One second you were there, and the next I lost you in the fog! I was looking all over for you before I figured you would be here! I just got here not too long ago."

I shook my head, "I came here, but I didn't bother looking around. When I saw there was no base, I went for the hospital."

"The hospital? Alchemilla? What did you find there?"

I opened my mouth, but quickly closed it. How could I frame this without making myself look guilty? Deciding against my better judgement, I cleared my throat, "I…I think something happened to another FBI agent."

Bennett's eyes widened, his entire stature changing, "Who!?"

"Agent…Pendenski?"

I saw the look in Jonathon's face as he breathed out and let his arms go limp, "My God. I can't believe it…What happened to Agent Pendenski? What did you see?"

I shook my head, "I didn't see a body… _But_ …", I trailed off, hoping I wouldn't need to explain further.

Jonathon didn't need any more before grunting, "Damn it! I wonder if Lee or Gutierrez…," He took out his radio and brought it up to his mouth, "This is Bennett, Gutierrez do you read? Repeat, Gutierrez do you read? Over."

Bennett brought the radio down, "I didn't expect that to work…This town is screwed up. Something is seriously wrong here, there's no way out! Every road out of this place…"

"We're trapped." I sighed, "We're all trapped here in this hellhole."

A knock on the door knocked us out of our somber as Myra Collard walked in the room, "Agent Bennett! Thank God! And Jake, you made it here too!"

"Yeah, and we're going to stay here." I retorted.

Myra sighed, "It…looks that way."

In a situation like this, it was easy to give up hope. My head felt like it was ready to burst, but I tried to hold it together as I thought of what to do. If all ways out of town were crushed, then the only way we could get help is by getting a message out.

"Agent Bennett, the FBI had a helicopter that landed at Brookhaven, right?" Collard asked.

"You're right, but it'll be a pain to get to the other side of the lake. No, there's an easier way. I just need to get access to the FBI servers so I can get a message to DC. If I can get an SOS through, they'll send in the cavalry."

A spark of hope began to light inside of me. This shouldn't be difficult to do at all! If Bennett can pull this off, "The sky'll be full of FBI helicopters. Hell, even the army if necessary. We can use the helicopter as a backup plan."

"What do you need to get in contact with DC?" Collard asked.

"A computer with internet access. All the laptops here are dead; I'll need a working one. But where?"

"How about here?" Collard asked, holding up a newspaper, pointing to an article.

 **ANONYMOUS DONER PAYS FOR NEW COMPUTER LAB AT** **MIDWICH ELEMENTARY**

I looked down at the map on the table, "Problem, Midwich is on the other side of town."

"That's a problem considering none of the cars are working, believe me, I tried." Collard added.

Bennett looked at the map as well, "We have no choice. That's our best chance to get the hell out of here…We'll have to split up."

"What!?" Officer Collard and I asked at the same time.

I was dumbfounded. Out of all the things we could do in this town filled with monsters, he wanted to split up!?

"Listen, something is going on here. Call me crazy, but no matter what happens, people always get split up. People always get lost. We stick together at first, but we'll all eventually get separated."

I spoke up, "Just because you and I got separated doesn't mea-"

"No." Myra interrupted me, "Officer Petross and I got separated as well. It's as if they're plucked out of thin air and placed somewhere else. It's a miracle all three of us are in this room at once." I was going to continue fighting, but I was obviously outnumbered and I didn't want to look like a thorn in their side.

"It's best if we were to split up and go individually and meet up once we're there. Just like we did here. I don't want to either, I'm scared as hell, but it's the only way."

He stood up fully, embracing his full height as he pulled out his nine-millimeter handgun and cocking it, "I'll go first. Then Collard. We're both sworn to protect the citizenry, that's you Jake. We'll go through, clean up any mess, and then you follow last. We'll go in increments of ten minutes."

He looked at me and then at Myra and nodded. Without another word, he turned and walked out of the room. His footsteps faded in the lobby as the heavy wooden door groaned open and shut closed.

I looked at Officer Collard, "Uh…Myra?" I asked softly.

She looked up from her pistol, "Yes? What's wrong?" She asked tenderly, almost like a mother.

"Did you find anyone out there after you met me?"

She shook her head, "Nope. This town is nearly completely empty. All I've seen is you, me, Agent Bennett, and Officer Petross."

I nodded, thinking of Aaron. Despite the fact he was so cold and mean to me, he was still young, too young to be running around at a time like this. I wanted to say something, but my muscles didn't move to say so. So, I just stood there as Officer Collard inspected and secured her weapon.

When the time finally came, Myra put her hand on my shoulder and looked at me, "It'll be fine. Don't worry. Agent Bennett and I will put our lives down for you."

I smiled, "Thank you. Good luck."

She nodded as she walked out of the room and outside the building. It felt… _good_ to be treated with such kindness. I wanted more of it…It had been a long time since I felt a woman's touch. I wish I had more of that growing up.

Not having a mother's love could really screw you up.

I picked at my rusted pipe for a long while. I tried waiting ten minutes, I really didn't know; all the clocks had stopped working. The room felt completely void, not only of life, but of spirit. My spirit was crushed, I had my hopes raised, but cautiously of course.

I could see the sky black with FBI helicopters coming to save us and any survivors. Of course, would they be able to fight the beasts in this city? There were probably many roaming the streets, but only God knows what lurked underneath.

I had wasted enough time, my feet felt rooted to the floor…But with no hesitations, I followed the footsteps of my predecessors and headed out into the fog.


	9. A Sign of Their Passage

**Silent Hill: Resonance**

 **Chapter 8: A Sign of Their Passage**

 _Crunch. Crunch._

Looking down at my map, I figured I was headed down Bloch street to hit Midwich, then head down to the school. The fog embraced and covered the entire town in its darkness. However, I could still see the streamers and the banners with _Silent Hill Salutes…_ The many veterans that came from the city in preparation for the Fourth of July.

However, my walk came to a stop when another large hole had opened itself in the middle of the street, engulfing the entire intersection. Deciding against my better judgment, I leaned over the edge and looked down into the pit. I couldn't see the bottom of the hole, and I couldn't see the other side. I figured I could simply head up Levin street, then Matheson back onto Midwich.

Folding up the map, I made my way up Levin Street. Walking, I wondered if Jonathon or Myra came the same way I did. If so, there was no sign of their passage. Despite being in such an unorthodox positon, everything seemed normal. All the cars were parked in their driveways on the streets, BBQ grills were situated on porches and American flags lightly waved in the breeze. I could imagine the city full of life, with citizens driving on the roads and walking down the sidewalks, but they must have dissolved into the fog leaving nothing but soil and beasts behind.

As I was about halfway down Levin Street, a sight came through the fog. A Maine State Police car absolutely smashed and crashed against a bent light post. Its front hood was completely wrapped around the pole and its front windshield was shattered into a million pieces across the street and sidewalk. The back-driver's side door was wide open, and my morbid humor couldn't help but come through as I chuckled about a criminal catching a lucky break and making a run for it.

But that humor quickly faded as I realized that a person was in the driver seat. I ran up to the car and inspected the body that was crushed in a heap of mangled metal. His or her face was smashed into the airbag, I honestly couldn't tell what the gender was considering it was so deformed. Looking closer however, made me wonder what was the cause of this officer's death.

At first glance, anyone would assume the crash was the cause of the fatality. But as I paid closer attention, I couldn't help but notice that there was a significant amount of blood pouring down the back of the officer's head. The blood streaming from visible holes in the back of the head…Bullet holes.

Walking to the open back door, I peered in to-

 _BUZZZZZZZ! FUZZZZZZZZZZZ! KISSSSSSHX!_

My heart skipped a beat as I instantly raised my pipe for an attack. I swirled around, looking for any sign of a monster. My mind instantly flashed back to the _thing_ back in the hospital. But there! Past the dark fog came a stumbling figure, a large figure.

I held my pipe in front of me, bracing for an assault. It was tall, at least six feet or so. But as it came into view, I squinted my eyes so I wouldn't have to see the beast in all its horror and morbidity. Although it wasted no time, instantly rushing through the fog and towards me.

Before I could even react, it slammed against my body full force, knocking the air out of me and sending me rolling across the car's roof, slamming down on the concrete. I grimaced as my hands slit open over the shattered glass.

I groaned in pain as I jumped back up and ran around the car to face the monster. Without a second of hesitation, I swung my pipe at its knee. Falling on it's one knee, I took a second opportunity to swing at its head. The beast fell on all fours, but as quick as it fell it wildly swung its blade at me.

I heard the ripping of fabric and less than a second I felt the burning and stinging pain slice across my arm. I had a second to look at the bloody gash on my left arm before the creature jumped back up and swung again. Jumping back, I fell on my tailbone and then slammed my head on the floor as I saw the blade coming down at me. I crawled underneath the underbelly of the police car and emerged on the other side to create a quick barrier between myself and the beast.

Opening the back-passenger's side door of the car to see a handgun sitting in the backseat. I leaped on my belly into the car to grab the gun. Unsure of what exactly I was doing, I quickly held the gun in both my hands as the beast came through the other door. It stabbed and slashed its blade in the back seat, missing me but ripping the upholstery in a jagged fashion.

Jumping back out to the other side of the car, the monster jumped on top of the cruiser, crushing in the roof and the sirens on top. I aimed down the sights and pulled the trigger as many times as I possibly could. I don't know how many times I managed to pull, but it fell dead. My radio still rang loudly as it crashed to the ground with a mighty crash and it finally died when I delivered a kick to the monster.

I simply stood there, taking in deep rapid and ragged breaths. I stood there, staring at the beast. I couldn't describe it, not enough to bring it justice. But…it was hideous. Its face looked as if it were held together by metal plating and staples, as well as the rest of its body. It's lower left arm was missing and it looked as though the blade was stitched on. I didn't want to look anymore as I walked to the police car and sat in the back seat, letting my legs hang outside the car.

I sighed deeply as I looked at the incision on my arm, I scowled at the gash. The cut was deeper than I thought. Looking at my hands with slashes and cuts from the glass, an idea popped into my mind. Reaching inside my satchel, I pulled out my Health Drink and twisted off the cap. Tasting the refreshing strawberry and banana blend as it flowed down into my stomach, I began to feel a little better.

After I finished, I threw the empty bottle away as I looked down at the pistol that saved my life. The logo in the corner made it clear that it was a Glock 22, made in Austria. .40…That was 40 millimeter ammo, right?

I had never held a g-No, that wasn't true. I held a gun once before, but I didn't fire it, I only held it in my small hand. But holding this weapon made me feel safe, but I would only have to use it in dire situations, considering it only had one clip of ammo in it and I didn't see any ammo around. But I would have to keep an eye open.

Inspecting the black and smooth canvas, I almost felt in awe. I put the gun on safety and put it in my belt, almost like a holster. I stood up, making sure to avoid looking at the dead beast. I simply continued down Levin Street.

When I finally hit Matheson Street and headed left, I was once again greeted with a roadblock. On the corner of Matheson and Midwich was another gaping hole into oblivion. I cursed openly as I opened back up my map and decided my next course of action. Looking at my map, I had crossed off Bradbury street, as there was another hole there.

At this point, I would have no choice but to run all around town checking streets for anyway to reach the school. Did Bennett or Collard have to find an alternative way to get to the school? It was too bad that the radios didn't work at all except to warn me of any danger.

However, something caught my eye as I stood there. To my left was a chain-link fence that looked as though someone had cut through them in a rough fashion. Walking closer to the fence, I realized the hole was large enough for me to possibly climb through. Out of ideas, I got down on all fours and squeezed my way through the hole. One of the wires scratched my face as I finally got through.

As I got up, I found myself in a small alleyway. To my right was a large row of two story houses, I whistled loudly, "Damn, must be nice to live there!"

These homes were facing out on Midwich, I could go through one of these houses and get back on track. Squinting my eyes to see through the fog, I realized that some of these houses must have been built recently, as some of their windows hadn't been installed and had FOR SALE signs on others. However, it appeared the houses at the far end had already been purchased and had families move in. I assumed this by the many empty cardboard boxes that had been stacked by these wealthy homeowners.

These wooden fences had doors that were locked up, except for one I found that gave way with a light push. I felt weird, walking into a random stranger's backyard, but I reminded myself I wasn't a thief and was only passing through. The backyard was masterfully pieced together with a rose garden, a backyard patio, and even a small pond. Whatever landscaper did this must have been paid good.

Yeah, must been nice to have all this money.

As I stepped up the stairs onto the patio, I opened the sliding glass door and stepped into the kitchen. Now I _definitely_ felt wrong as I looked around the spotless kitchen and looked at the six burner stove. A Health Drink sitting on the counter tempted me, but I ignored it, not only because it would be stealing, but it was black cherry flavor.

Walking out of the kitchen into what looked like to be the living room, I was once again stunned. A massive flat screen TV hung over the fireplace, blue couches and loveseats were seated around a glass coffee table. The fresh scent of lavender met my nose as I could feel my fingers again. Against my better judgment, I looked at some of the pictures of the wall.

My mouth dropped open as I noticed the family portrait. A mother, very beautiful, and father with their two sons. One was young, at least fourteen or fifteen. The second looked much older, with dark brown eyes and a thick set of full hair as black as night, it was Aaron.

My mouth went to cover my mouth. I tried to say something, but the first thing that came out of my mouth was, "Holy shit!"

How was it that, out of every other home and way to the school, I ended up going through Aaron's house? Aaron wasn't home though; the house was dead and empty of life. I felt that coming in. The blue shade of the walls made the entire house seem gloomy and depressed, and not even happy family photos could save it.

I looked at Aaron's parents, the ones he said that disappeared this morning. He didn't say anything about a little brother, however. _I have to get out of this house NOW!_ I thought, but my curiosity got the better of me.

Curiosity killed the cat, they say. _I have to figure out what he was after in the hospital,_ I tried to justify it, _He's very mysterious. He was after something. He knows more than he lets on and I can find something in his room!_

I was just trying to justify the fact that I was an idiot. Without even thinking I ran up the stairs to the second story where I was met with more family pictures on the walls. Down the hall to my left was an open door that I decided to try out. As I walked in, I accidently thought I had entered the master bedroom of his parents and was about to walk out, but then I noticed the mark of every teenage boy: a messy room.

Now granted, it didn't look like an absolute warzone. But it was still pretty messy.

Clothes were thrown on the floor, papers and folders were stacked on his desk, the bed was disorganized and unmade, and towels were thrown over the open closet door. Other than that, it was tidy.

It was easy for me to accidently think this was the master bedroom. In the center of the room was a huge king size bed with countless pillows, another flat screen TV hung on the wall, with an Xbox 360 on the floor with cords carelessly coming out. To the door's left was a desk with a laptop and a bookshelf with fancy pieces of art on the walls, although I doubted Aaron was a connoisseur of such things. What looked to be much more up Aaron's alley were the posters of soccer, football, and rugby teams and players. A door in the far corner of the room led to a private bathroom, a _private freakin' bathroom_!

Walking up to a large dresser, I looked at many cologne bottles and brands that I couldn't pronounce. On the dresser was a framed photo of what looked like a sport's team, either a soccer or rugby team, I noticed Aaron in the photo, "I didn't know Aaron played sports" I muttered to myself, although we never did have any conversations about life.

I didn't even know where to begin searching. All of a sudden, I felt bad, I was violating someone else's privacy in a way I wouldn't want someone to violate mine.

Kicking a random jockstrap on the floor, it flew into the air and hit a bottle of water sitting on the desk. The bottle knocked over and the cap popped off, leaking water all over the top and sides of the desk. I reached over and brought the bottle right side up and inspected the water flowing down the side of the desk.

However, in the nook between his dresser and his desk something caught my attention. Picking it up before the water could spoil it, I looked at the object. It was a photo. It must have been taken recently, considering Aaron still looked relatively the same as he did when I saw him.

The photo was of Aaron and another boy around his age. Aaron had a large smile on his face showing off his pearly whites, he looked happy, genuinely _happy_. The boy with sandy blonde hair and a dorky smile also looked joyous. They stood at what looked to be a pier at dusk, the setting sun shining off the lake. The two of them stood there in their swimming trunks with their arms wrapped around each other. They looked… _close_.

I put the photo on the closed laptop in guilt as I sulked out of his room. Walking slowly down the hall, I peered at the countless family picture dating back to baby photos. Hell, even dating back to when his parents looked like they were barely a couple at prom.

Pictures of them at the beach, alright, that was one thing. But pictures from Paris, Rome, Washington DC, LA, Seattle, Vancouver, the Great Wall of China, and many others made me a bit envious to the many adventures they've been on.

Nothing at all like my family. We just weren't that kind of family…And that was before my mom died.

As I took the first step down the set of stairs, flashbacks came to me as I heard the terrible noise.

 _BUZZZZZZZ! FUZZZZZZZZZZZ! KISSSSSSHX!_

I instantly jumped behind the wall adjacent to the staircase and pulled out my new weapon. To be perfectly honest, I still didn't know how to work it, but at least I knew to turn the safety off. The radio got louder as I heard the glass door slide open. I only had half a clip of ammo left, but that would be enough…

I forced myself to breathe through my nose, breathing through my mouth was too loud. I looked at my pistol in my hands, forcing them to stop shaking. Was it a nurse? Was it that weird Frankenstein monster? Or was it something completely new?

Heavy footsteps. Foot in front of foot I heard it make its way across the kitchen. The loud crash of pots and pans was heard throughout the house. A short growl as it made its way into the living room. I was ready to pop out and release a barrage of bullets, but my feet remained firm in their place refusing to move.

I took a sigh of relief as I didn't hear the squeaking of the staircase as its footsteps got softer. All of a sudden, a loud crash and shattering of glass was heard. Then simply silence…

I only stood there for a minute longer until I made my way down the stairs, pistol in hands. The large window in the living room was shattered. I followed in its footsteps as I made my way through the broken window and out into the streets.

I could only pray that Bennett and Collard were at our destination. And that I would never have to face any more of these monsters…

…Though I knew the latter prayer was in vain.


	10. The Monster Lurks

**Silent Hill: Resonance**

 **Chapter 9: The Monster Lurks**

 _Crunch. Crunch._

The sound of glass crunching and cracking into smaller crystals under my feet seemingly echoed down the empty street. Keeping an eye out for any more abnormalities, I kept a brisk pace down Midwich hoping to reach the school sooner than later. My new and improved arsenal consisted of the satchel around my left shoulder, my pipe in my hands, and my Glock holstered in my belt. Using my coat to cover the pistol, I wondered what the laws were considering concealed weapons in Maine but I really doubted anyone would arrest me at a time like this.

As I got closer and closer to the school, a large yellow school bus came into my view. Following that were soft murmurings, voices? As I came closer, the voices came more and more into focus, "-Brookhaven, it's our last chance to do anything."

I took a big sigh of relief as I stepped up to the school to see Officer Collard talking with another woman, also dressed in a Maine Street Police uniform. She was shorter than Collard, her dark brown hair was tied up in a short ponytail, but her dark brown eyes were intense as hell. Myra looked at me, "Jake! Thank God you made it here safely! Did you run into any problems?"

I lied, knowing they wouldn't believe any tale I told them, "No, I made it here fine. I had to take a shortcut through one of the houses. You're not gonna arrest me, are you?" I joked.

"I think we'll overlook this time." The brown headed woman said playfully.

In such a stressful and tumultuous environment, it felt as though I hadn't smiled in a million years. My guard was let down for a short second before I gained it back with flashes of beasts in my mind.

I smiled at the woman as Myra introduced us, "Jacob, this is Officer Luisa Petross. Luisa, this is Jake."

We shook hands as Officer Petross spoke, "Jake, nice to meet you. I know that this town is screwed up, but I have faith in Agent Bennett."

"Uh…Where is he anyway?" I asked.

"He wanted us to guard the entrance to the school. I honestly thought it was kind of odd, but he insisted. He'll be in the computer lab."

I wondered why as well. Did Jonathon see those monsters and wanted to make sure the entrance was guarded so he could get into contact with the FBI? I must have been making a face because Officer Petross asked, "Are you okay?"

"Hm? Oh, yeah. Sorry, I'm…I've just been thinking a lot since I've been here. Just…Making big things out of small things. _Chasing shadows_ , you know?"

"I've been doing the same thing too," Myra added, "Like all my years of experience are morphing into one day. I've just been jumpy. Seeing things out of the corners of my eyes."

"It's okay to say that we're all a little scared. But we need to stay on top of it, we need to be smart about it." Luisa consoled, "This isn't something we can necessarily train for."

"Yeah, you're right. It's just…Let's be careful." I warned. I chucked, "You know, I don't know why, but have any of you ever read that book 'The Monster Lurks' by Leonard Rhine?"

"Isn't Leonard Rhine that weird author who wrote those occult horror books in the 1980s?" Collard asked.

"He was a registered psychologist. I read some of his works, not 'The Monster Lurks', but others. He was… _disturbed_." Petross added with a sour note, "He killed himself, no?"

"Yeah, he did. Tried to open a portal to the underworld or something like that." I confirmed, "I don't know, I just feel like I'm the main character in that book. She was a schizophrenic, saw shadows and monsters and devils and gods. She ended up killing herself at the end of the book as well."

Did the air around me just turn icy cold? I swore it felt like the same feeling I had in that operating room, the feeling as though I was plunged in a freezing lake. I tried to snap myself out of it.

I nodded at the two ladies, "Alright, I'm going to see Bennett. Where's the computer lab?"

"Walk through the doors past the entrance. Then go all the way down to your left. He'll be there." Collard told me.

"Be careful, the lights aren't working. Dark as hell in there." Petross added.

"Got it, I found a flashlight a while back!"

I made my way up the cold concrete stairs and into the school. The school was dark; and the little light that managed to seep in was cold and gray and did little to help. I flipped on my flashlight so I could finally see something. My feet sounded heavy walking on the cracked wooden floors as I made my way into the corridor.

 _It was so empty._ The school was so empty. My flashlight didn't light the ends of the hallways, only a few feet in front of me were lit up. _Where are all the windows?_ No windows at all, as though they had all been painted over. I turned to the left and walked down the hall. The dark and oppressive atmosphere made me feel as though I were placed in the hole in a prison.

 _This wasn't right…_ This building was too gloomy and depressed to be a school. I couldn't even imagine hundreds of small children in these halls, walking from one class to another. These lockers were old, rusted and dented, many of them looked impossible to open as the unlocking mechanisms looked sabotaged. Impossible to open and impossible to identify considering many of the number tags have corroded off. _My God,_ I thought, _what the hell happened here?_

A large poster was plastered up on the wall. A large array of lightening and a storm took up most of the poster and a large eyeball sat in the center. It felt as though the eye were real, staring straight at me. It was unsettling.

 **GOD IS WATCHING YOU** it said in big bold letters.

"Hmmmm," I said aloud.

 _This must be some kind of Christian or Catholic school,_ I thought. I winced thinking of my own experiences when I was sent to Catholic school for a couple of years. _The only decent person there was Father McAndrew,_ I recalled, _Him and Sister Virginia. I hated that place._

Though I wasn't a practicing member of the church anymore, but seeing it allowing one of its schools to fall into such a state of disrepair made me embarrassed. Tearing down the poster and stamping it on the ground, I groaned in frustration looking at the massive hole that the poster was covering.

As I finally found the computer lab, Agent Bennett was furiously typing away at a command screen. He cursed loudly as I approached him, "Damn, I'll need internet access!"

He looked up at me, "Holy hell, Jake. Scared me." He chuckled, "Uh…There's a bit of a snag in the plan."

"We need some Wi-Fi?" I asked, "Crap, I'll look around and see if we can find anything."

Bennett slid a map across the table, "Tore it off the bulletin board at the entrance. There's an Administrator Office on the second floor. I would check it out and see what you can get from in there."

I leaned over to pick up the map off the table, I guess my coat must have opened up or something because Bennett jumped up from his seat, "Jake, what do you have in your belt? Is that what I think it is?"

I looked up at Bennett, his hand on his pistol and I slowly raised my hands, "Jonathon, calm down. It's a gun. I found it in a crashed police cruiser." I attempted to ease him.

Again, the once soft-spoken man's voice became rough and authoritarian, "Put it on the table. Slowly, now!"

I did as I was told, putting the pistol down on the table. Bennett grabbed it, inspecting it he asked me, "Do you have training?"

"I…uh…Yeah." I lied.

He gave me an amused look, "You're such a bullshitter! Believe me, too many people think a gun is 'Bang bang, bad guy dead'! I was a marine before I worked in the FBI, so my basic training plus FBI training. I know my way around a gun." He looked down the iron sights while gripping the barrel.

"You were a marine huh?"

"Yep, in the Gulf War. Not only that but was apart of Operation Just Cause, took out Noriega. Shook General Powell's and Bush Senior's hand once the job was done."

He smiled, as if he were remembering happier times before he realized where he was and the smile dropped. He handed the gun back to me, taking it I placed it back in my belt, my makeshift holster. I continued my questions.

"And what led you to join the FBI specifically after you were done?"

Jonathon hesitated for a second as though he had to think about it, "I guess law enforcement runs in the family. My father was a police officer in Boston. My sister was a police officer in Brahms."

"Brahms?" I raised an eyebrow, "That's where I'm from. Would I see her around town or something?"

He shook his head, "No. You wouldn't…She disappeared…God, feels like centuries ago."

"She disappeared? Like…She was…" I trailed off before I forced myself to keep talking.

I was going to ask if she was killed and they never recovered her body, but I kept my mouth shut. I don't know why my mind jumped to such a morbid place, but it simply popped up in my mind. I bit my lip and prayed Jonathan continued, he did.

"Her motorcycle was found abandoned outside of Silent Hill. She was sent out to investigate a report that no one could get into contact with the police department here, so she headed out here on roads. And…That was the last time anyone saw her."

"Here? But…they never found her? Not even a body?"

He shook his head, "No, her bike crashed outside of Silent Hill, but the crash site was clean. The bike wasn't even mangled or showed that there was an accident. Just left on the side of the road. No one heard from her after that."

He shook his head as his eyes stared into space, "She was troubled, our parents were killed when a break-in went wrong. I was in the marines and she was young. The thing was…she was hiding in the closet when she saw them killed."

My mouth was left agape at such a terrible thing. I couldn't even imagine what…God. The sheer terror that must have gone through a young girl's mind would've stuck with her forever. Instead of homicide, ideas of suicide filled my heads.

"Yeah, so I guess that's what got her wanting to join law enforcement. And I guess that's what got me into the FBI."

Bennett coughed, "Damn, sorry. I…I got carried away. You better get that Wi-Fi up and working if you want to get the hell out of here."

I nodded, "Got it." I made my way towards the door, but I stopped before I crossed the threshold.

In a weak voice, I called back, "I'm really sorry to hear that."

Jonathon carelessly waved his hand…


	11. Kimble's Legacy

**Silent Hill: Resonance**

 **Chapter 10: Kimble's Legacy**

 _CRASH!_

"God!" I yelped as I spun around, lighting up the hallway with the flashlight.

Bringing up the rusty pipe in an offensive positon, I braced myself for anything. Deep ragged breathing was the only sound that seemingly echoed the hallway, and that was coming from me. The source of the sound was a locker door being swung open.

Sighing in relief, the only thing that came into my mind was, _who opened it?_ Finally putting myself at ease, I pulled the flashlight out of my pocket and inspected the locker. Similar to the exterior of the lockers, the inside of the locker was covered in peeling paint and rust, and it was completely empty.

Empty except for a thin book that looks like it had corroded with the rest of the locker. But I could still read the fine text…

Saint Joseph's Catholic School

Yearbook, 1984

My mind couldn't wrap around what I was holding in my hands. It took a couple of attempts for me to finally realize what I was reading, as though it were in a foreign language, "How the hell…What did…"

I groaned as my head began to pound to the beat of a thousand drums, "This is too much to be a coincidence…"

My elementary school yearbook was in this locker? _I wanted to leave that godforsaken place behind, now it's here in my hands._ I flipped to a random page to find every portrait violently scribbled out with black marker, along with every name.

Some pages simply black scribbles and X's to conceal identities, but others contained overlapping pictures and colors, looking like something from an acid trip. But no matter what was on the page, every name and picture was completely ineligible. Following a sudden urge, I flipped towards the back of the book to the R's.

 _Reed…Rios…Roosevelt…Russo…Rudd…Ryan! Jacob Ryan…_

A whimper escaped my lips as I looked at the picture, the only picture in the entire book that wasn't scratched out. It was me…My God, I looked sick. Dark circles rung underneath my lifeless eyes, my hair was long and scraggily and clearly hadn't been cut in some time. My heart felt pangs of…guilt? Sadness? I couldn't put my finger on it. I felt pity for that young boy, but I was disgusted by him at the same time.

Shutting my eyes as well as the book, I tossed it in the locker, followed by slamming the locker shut. I placed my forehead on the cold material, breathing deeply, introspecting on my situation. _Why the hell is this here!?_ I had to shake myself out of it, this administrator's office was down the hall and I couldn't let this red herring distract me.

In fact, I felt as though someone had placed this here specifically to do that. But I disregarded the idea as paranoia, no way anyone could know where I went to school and went through the trouble of finding the yearbook.

I turned the cold knob on the door and to my relief it wasn't locked, the door creaked open. The administrator's office was a small, pathetic office that had furniture that consisted of hand-me-downs. But behind the desk sat a man who stood as I entered, I took a step back, "O-oh, sorry! I…I didn't know that anyone was in here. Are you the technician or something? I need to get the internet back and up."

The man shook his head no. He stood tall with broad shoulders that were covered in a thick flannel and black trench coat. His thick black hair was graying and supplemented his beard. It appeared as though he hadn't cleaned himself in some time, the beard was disheveled and the hair on his head was oily from gel that hadn't been washed in days. He spoke in a deep gravelly voice, "No, none of that. But I've been waiting for you."

"You've been waiting for me?" I asked, wondering if I've ever seen this man before.

He extended a hairy hand to shake mine, "Darko Takacs, member of the Silent Hill City Council."

I shook his rough and rugged hand, "Uh…Jacob Ryan." Though for some reason, I felt he already knew considering he was waiting specifically for me.

He motioned for me to sit on an old creaky chair with rusty nails holding its joints together, I did so as he grabbed the chair from behind the desk and threw it down in front of me. Taking a seat down he spoke, "Jacob, I'm sure as you've already seen, Silent Hill isn't doing so good right now. The FBI and state police clearly are not welcomed here and their constant barraging and demands have sullied our town's spirts before our Fourth of July celebrations."

I was confused. _Why the hell is this guy talking like things are normal here? NOBODY is in this town! Who's spirts are being "sullied"?_ I spoke, clearly uncomfortable, "I…I'm sorry to hear that. But I'm sure the FBI doesn't get involved unless there's something illegal going on. Their investigations are criminally related."

I bit my tongue, not sure how much information to divulge. However, Darko chuckled, "Is it because of the drugs? Is that what they told you? I've been on the city council for nearly twenty years, and yes, there is a serious drug problem pouring across our city. At first it was mostly contained to the southeastern corner of the town, the poorer part of the city you know? But now it's spreading all over…It's our dirty little secret you know? The tourism hasn't been bringing in enough after the recent tragedies, so the money brought in from the PTV has relieved many of the deficits in our budget."

He rubbed his bearded cheeks, as if he were trying to get some warmth back on his face. I coughed, not knowing what to say next in such an uncomfortable situation, "You were waiting for me? Is there something I can help you with?" I hesitated to ask.

"Yes…You can get them to leave. The FBI and the state police, they're wasting their time here at Midwich, even if they did get their message out it wouldn't reach DC. Their entire force is gone and you won't be able to do anything to save them, you're the only ones left. If you want to leave, your best bet is to get to that helicopter at Brookhaven."

"But Brookhaven is on the other side of Toluca Lake, and that lake is huge. Taking the road around it would be way too long! Plus, none of the cars here even work!"

"Correct. Take this." Takacs reached inside his big coat and brought out a key, "This is the key to my speedboat. You'll have to make your way to the lighthouse, near Lakeside Amusement Park. At the lighthouse is a dock, there I have my boat parked."

I raised in eyebrow in suspicion. _Who the hell just hands someone keys to a speedboat?_ I thought of the countless cars that were immovable and stagnant, "So, cars don't work but boats do?"

Darko leaned in, speaking in a quiet and deadly whisper, "Don't question things. Don't assume things. Silent Hill…The old gods haven't left this place, and they don't play by the rules you and I do… Do you have a map of the town?"

I hesitated before I nodded, opening my satchel and pulling out the map. Standing up, I spread the map out on the crappy desk where the ancient monitor sat. Darko walked to my side and put his bear claw on my shoulder.

 _Shit, this guy is tall._

He was at least 6'4 or 6'5, and looked like he must have worked out often even at his age. He didn't look _old_ , but I could see white hair growing and spreading across his head and beard. He smelled faintly of alcohol. He took a second to inspect my map, "You've obviously spent some time on the streets, haven't you?" He pointed at the X's that I made to mark where the streets have been demolished.

He held open his hand, "Your marker?"

I handed him the sharpie I had been using, he made several more crosses and X's on several streets: Riverside, Low, Cielo, Koontz. He made a large bold circle around the Silent Hill Town Centre, "All the streets are obliterated, you'll have to go through the town Centre. That's our local mall. It closed about seven or so years ago when Toluca Mall opened in Brahms, how could our little fifty store mall compete with a two hundred fifty store behemoth? You'll have to make your way through there and down Wein."

Reaching inside his coat once more, he pulled out a second key and handed it to me, "This is to get by the security gates at the mall's entrence"

He closed the marker cap and handed it back to me, "I have a question," I spoke up, "Why are you trying so hard to get us out of here?"

He looked at me with a deadly glare, "I told you already why, the FBI is wasting their time here harassing the local people. Now, listen to my words…Do not trust the _Trinidad clan_. The second they came to this town with their money, it's gone to Hell. When Anibal Trinidad first came in 1915, it was slow at first, but it was his ancestor's doing that led our city into it's current state."

 _Trinidad clan_? Aaron? I gave a meek nod as a form of understanding, though I was lost. Darko straightened my collar almost fatherly-like before quietly walking out of the room and closing the door behind him. Left only by myself in the room, I stared at the map for a while longer while trying to gather my thoughts. The key felt cold in my hand before I dumped it in the satchel.

I folded up the map and put it in my satchel as well. I guess I was done here.

Did Darko Takacs have something to do with the dope trade? He didn't answer much but he was in a rush to get the FBI and police out of here. And he didn't want me to trust the "Trinidad clan". Aaron wasn't much help and was rather mysterious too, but I figured the sooner I found him, I could get my questions answered.

I figured I would at least give the Wi-Fi a try, despite what Darko told me. I thought we should take every chance to get out of Silent Hill as possible. Approaching the router, I scoffed at the realization it was off, "Yeah, I doubt DC would get the message too." I sarcastically added.

Finally turning it on, I made my way out of the office. Turning the cold knob, I heard the familiar _click click._ Raising an eyebrow, I attempted to turn it again. _Click click._

"The hell?"

Again, more forcefully. _Click click._

Putting my weight against the door, trying to force it open, still to no avail. I began to panic, banging and banging on the door, "HEY! D-DARKO! ANYONE!?"

Using the pipe as a battering ram also led to nothing. Swinging around to the windows, smashing the pipe against them led to nothing.

Then came the sound. It was an ear-piercing screech directly into my brain and disrupting all my senses. But this horrid cry came hidden in a loud siren, one that surrounded and encompassed me in its noise. Covering my ears did nothing.

My vision blurred. I was going to vomit. I collapsed on the floor in a burning sensation.

When I finally awoke, I was still in the administrator's office. I brought myself up and stood on my shaky feet. I reached for the knob, and it turned without hesitation. Opening the door and stepping out into the hallway…

…Something was different.

A sense in the air, something inside my soul, I wasn't…where I was before. It looked the same at first, but a couple of things were off. The hallways...Did they shrink? I don't remember the walls being this close before, I still had leeway, but not as much as I first entered the school. The walls had obvious signs of decay and age, water damage and rust. Furthermore, the floors were in a state of disrepair with broken and ripped out boards infested with countless termites, I could walk on them, but I would have to watch my step.

 _No_ …This was not where I was before.


	12. Assault

**Silent Hill: Resonance**

 **Chapter 11: Assault**

 _Creeeak…Creeeak…Snap!_

I gasped as I quickly pulled my foot up from the breaking wooden floor. The wooden floor that broke under my weight fell to the story beneath. I again began my resolve to watch my step and to hope the floor didn't give way anymore, especially when it was directly underneath my feet.

Another step forward resulted in a sickening _pop_ and _squish._ I raised my foot to find I had stepped in a hivemind of termites that were now smashed against the sole of my shoe. God, this was sick, something wrong had happened when I was in that room. I was in another world, one that took the basic shape of mine, but twisted and disformed it.

My head still felt the ringing of the loud siren burrowing further into my brain and clawing at the back of my eyes in quick succession. I forced myself to take a deep breath of the freezing air. At least for the time breathing, no matter how screwed up things were, I was safe.

 _BUZZZZZZZ! FUZZZZZZZZZZZ! KISSSSSSHX!_

I had spoken too soon… _Far too soon_ , "No!"

I looked around frantically, but I couldn't see anything. Nothing at all roamed these halls, but I was positive I could hear the radio. It's loud scratching and screeching made my headache that much worse. But then from down the hall, behind a door that I had previously tried to open to find it was busted, came a loud splintering sound.

The door groaned and shook violently as an axe slammed through it from the other side. Again, another smash of the axe caused the door's hinges to break off and fall to the floor. My feet were firmly stagnated to the floor as the door was finally knocked down, it's broken wood meeting the rotting floor under it.

Leaping out from the doorway was another one of those beasts. One of those stitched and stapled together, held together with large and jagged metal pieces. It's weapon, an axe-like blade, was stapled onto its hand. It rushed towards me, skipping and sprinting across the shattered floorboards. Raising my pipe with both hands above my head to defend myself, I felt the heavy force of the axe make contact, grinding against the pipe. Sending shockwaves through the pipes and seemingly throughout my body.

The shocking weight of the attack made me stumble and fall on my back, throwing the pipe at the monster led to it knocking the pipe out of the air. Reaching inside my belt and pulling out the pistol, I fired a shot with one hand. The bullet simply _clinked_ against the metallic shoulder plate.

I jumped up as I saw the axe swing at me again, I hopped back as the axe narrowly avoided my midsection and instead cut off one of the straps of my satchel. The satchel simply slipped off my shoulder and fell to the floor with a loud _thud_.

I turned and ran down the hall, trying to gain some distance to take another shot. Spinning around after running down the hall, the monster was still making its way for me. I took my time to aim down the iron sights and pulled the trigger once more, but the recoil threw me off and the bullet hit the locker instead. _I have to wait until it's closer to me!_

With the creature closing in, I had to again create more ground between the two of us. I made haste running down the hallway, but when I turned my head to look behind me I felt a force in front of me. I turned to see a chain-link fence blocking my way further down the hall. _What the hell is this-_

I had a second to quickly duck as the blade slashed in the air and got stuck in the fence. Taking the opportunity, I aimed quickly and delivered a shot to its back. A quick roar led to the monster quickly tearing the weapon from the fence as I took another shot, this time in its chest.

I gasped as I saw the blade smash down in front of me, cracking and smashing the shattered floor. In a split-second decision, I raised the pistol right at the beast's head and unloaded the entire clip. It fell dead and the shriek of the radio finally stopped.

I stood there, gasping for breath as I placed the empty pistol back in my belt. The fight that had escalated so quickly, ended. I made my way back to my satchel that was still slouched on the floor, the strap had been cut, I couldn't throw it around my shoulder anymore. I held it in my fist as I walked over and picked up the pipe I had thrown. Once I was sure I had all my equipment, I quickly moved to get to somewhere safer.

I eventually found myself in a small supply closet down the hallway, where I grabbed some of the duct tape on the shelf and used it to repair my satchel. It looked cheap and tacky as hell, but it would have to do. Leaving the closet, I figured I would have to make my way back to the computer lab back to Bennett.

Though…I doubted he would be here. I knew in my being that I was alone in this _other world_. But I needed to be certain about it, I needed to find somebody else before I ran into another… _thing_. I quickly made my way to and down the stairs.

 _Snap!_

The floorboard simply cracked under my body weight, which led to me falling directly on my face on the floor. I groaned, using my arms to push myself up, feeling odd tingly feelings all over them. I looked up to see a large group of termites crawling up my arms, nesting in my arm hairs. I angrily scrapped and picked off the termites that were crawling, "Why are there so many of these fuckers?" I cursed.

Getting up, I found myself staring at the same poster I had seen earlier. The one that boldly proclaimed, "God is watching you." Except, this time those words weren't plastered on, nor was the tree or the lightening. In fact, the only thing that remained was the massive eye which looked like it was staring straight at me. The bloodshot eye looked photorealistic, frighteningly so. I hurried away from it.

I pulled out the map and followed the steps back to the computer lab. But the door to the computer lab was shut, it's frame covered it bright yellow tape reading **POLICE LINE: DO NOT CROSS.** _God…I remember something like this years ago when I had come home from school one day…_ That was the day my father was killed.

I tore down the tape quickly and turned the knob only to find it was locked. Damn it, I would need a key…

Soft scratching came from the other side of the door, it was faint, I had to remain perfectly still and focus on it to hear it. I slowly raised my hand and brought it down on the door, knocking on it. From that simple knock, the door simply fell forward. It fell, almost as if it were weightless.

The room was completely dark, black. It was an empty expanse of nothingness, even my flashlight couldn't make out details, as if I were looking through a murky or steamy pane of glass. I took a step forward inside the room, and instantly felt a shove…

I screamed as I fell forward down a second flight of stairs, bouncing and twisting around uncontrollably. A heavy force hit my head as I fell unconscious…

 _Gasp. Gasp._

I had awoken at the bottom of the stairs, gasping frantically for air. Getting up, I scratched and slapped my arms to get off all the termites that must have crawled on me when I was unconscious. But there was nothing crawling on me, or on the floors. I gave a deep sigh of relief and allowed myself to stretch a bit.

In fact, everything had returned to normal. The floors were old, yes, but intact and not infested with termites, the hallway was larger and nothing was wrong with the walls besides needing a fresh coat of paint.

"I'm back." I whispered to myself, "Oh God, was I dreaming?"

My hands could not stop shaking in fear and anxiety. No…I had to be dreaming, no way…No way everything I saw happened…Christ, I must've hit my head harder than I thought. _It's okay, I'm safe now, there's nothing wrong. I was dreaming…_

I bent down to pick up my satchel to realize, I wasn't dreaming. The satchel, it still had the duct tape I used to repair it. The repair I had to make because the monster attacked me in the other school, "Oh, oh God! I couldn't have been dreaming…The pistol!"

I pulled the glock out to find, indeed, it was out of all ammunition. The clip was completely empty. The clip I used to kill the monster that attacked me. However, I didn't have time to stop and ponder this anymore as I heard loud voices coming down the hallway and around the corner. Sprinting towards the source, I ran to find Bennett, Collard, and Petross standing in the hallway with pistols drawn.

Two men lay dead down the hallway, "What the hell happened!?" I asked.

"They attacked us!" Petross answered, "They came here pretending to be civilians, but then they pulled out their pistols and tried to kill us. We had to defend ourselves."

"They knew we were here." Jonathon concluded, "There was no telltale sign that anyone was in this school, but they somehow knew we were in the school, in this exact room."

"Agent Bennett, you think they were sent here?" Myra asked.

"I…I don't know." Jonathon turned to me now, "Jake, I'm sorry. I sent you there for nothing. When we thought they were normal citizens, we let them in the lab and they sabotaged us. They destroyed the computer we were using."

"We're back to square one." Myra sighed.

Bennett instantly took command, "Come on everyone, let's go back inside and come up with another plan."

One by one, we walked back in the computer lab. Once we were settled, Luisa spoke, "So now we're on the way to Brookhaven?"

"Yeah, that's our next option. Only thing to consider now is how to get there. Brookhaven is in South Vale, in southern Silent Hill." Bennett asked, "And I don't want to risk any of these psychos trying to set up another hit on us!"

I opened my mouth to speak and went for the boat key in my satchel, "I ran into someone named Da-"

"Oh man! I was coming to warn you guys about the attack!" Came a voice from the doorframe.

All our eyes turned in the direction of the door to see Aaron swagger inside the lab. I almost rolled my eyes when I realized he had a change of clothes from when I had last seen him. He was now wearing a tan beige sports coat with a light blue button-up tucked into his jeans. A large and prominent men's fashion designer's logo served as the belt buckle. In fact, on closer look, he had even exchanged watches for an even more extravagant golden watch. I was going to address him before Jonathan beat me to it, "Aaron Trinidad, the son of Victoria and Macerio Trinidad."

"That is correct, Agent Jonathan Bennett. Son of Sharon and Jonathan Bennett Senior." He responded smugly, as if he were challenging Bennett on who knew more about the other.

"Why is it that your parents usually take vacations to countries without US extradition whenever we come around?"

Aaron raised an eyebrow and responded aggressively, "Are you questioning me, Agent Bennett? Because I'll have to remind you that I'm a minor and I'll need a parent and my lawyers before I answer anything."

"You're not in custody, are you? I can ask as many questions if there's probable cause." Bennett rebutted.

"What law do you suspect me of violating?" Aaron was obviously trained.

"Enough! We'll be all day if we're going to continue arguing back and forth!" I stepped in, "We need to get to Brookhaven to get to that helicopter! And I have a way we can get across Toluca Lake!" I pulled out the key Darko had given me, "This key is to a speedboat by the docks near the lighthouse. If we get there, we can use it to cross the lake and to the helicopter to get the hell out of here."

"Jake, where did you get that key from?" Myra asked, raising an eyebrow in suspicion.

I shrugged, "A man who said he was on the city council gave it to me. He said he was waiting for me, in fact, he kind of ambushed me in the office. His name was Darko Takacs-"

A collective groan from the other four as Petross addressed me, "Jake, we're not allowed to divulge information on a pending case, but in light of the circumstances we'll make an exception. Darko Takacs is one of the prime suspects in the PTV trade."

"Darko Takacs and the Trinidad family," Bennett added.

"Well…He did tell me not to trust the Trinidad family." I confessed, remembering the words he said with scorn.

"Oh, please!" Aaron scoffed, "The Takacs Family is old money! The Trinidad Family is new money!"

"Yeah, money gained from drug sales, is that right Aaron?" Bennett pried again, "Do you want to tell the story, or should I?"

"You know, why does a thirty-six-year-old man have such a grudge against a seventeen-year-old?" Aaron addressed the crowd, "It's sad! But I'll tell the story!" Aaron cleared his throat, "A long, long time ago in 1915 my grandfather Anibal Trinidad came to the US from Spain. He moved here, to Silent Hill where the two big families were the Takacs and the Gillespies. My grandfather entered the drug trade with Darko's grandfather. My grandfather killed Granddaddy Takacs and now our families hate each other. But that PTV trade is far behind us in our past, now Trinidad Industries is a legitimate company!"

He looked scornfully at Bennett, "That's why my parents are Moscow, attending a business meeting!"

"You told me earlier they were in Jakarta."

Aaron stumbled on his words, "Uh, I must have misspoken!"

"Anyway!" Myra broke the two bickering boys up, "You see, Jake, why it would not be appropriate for us to use the speedboat of one of the suspects of an FBI investigation."

"But how else would you get to Devil's Pit?" Aaron spoke up, dropping another bombshell.

"Wait, Devil's Pit?" Petross asked, "We need to get to the helicopter at Brookhaven."

"Oh? You guys don't want to know where all the drugs are stashed? My bad, then."

"Aaron," Jonathan spoke, "We've secured the drugs alrea-"

"At the west and east garage? At Alchemilla? You really think that's it? Come on, Jonathan! Where else could be better to hide drugs than the very deep and very dark caverns of Devil's Pit!? You know half the place was shut down after the accident with the roller-coaster."

 _Silence_. The room was engulfed in stillness. Was he bluffing? I couldn't be sure, but Bennett was the leader and we looked to him. Bennett looked up at us in resolve, "Fine. We'll head to Devil's Pit. Our job isn't over yet. Aaron and Jake, you two are technically civilians, so you can take the speedboat across Toluca. Us three, we'll have to take the road around the lake. But how?"

"We can use the ambulance that still at the garages," Petross suggested.

"That's right! We'll have to do that. That's the plan people. Now it's how we'll get to the ambulance and boat."

Aaron suggested, "There's an entrance to the sewers next to the school. You cops can take that. Jake and I will go through the Silent Hill Town Centre, which no doubt is what Darko told him."

"Why are we separating?" I asked, my heart filling with fear again, I still didn't entirely trust Aaron.

Aaron looked at me in disgust, "Do you really want to go down into the shitty sewers? Not only that, but these dead guys in the hallway, they came after _them_!" He pointed at the three.

"He's right." Myra conceded, "It'll be safer if Aaron and Jake go alone."

Jonathan looked deadly straight at Aaron, "Aaron, we are trusting you on this. We need to find this PTV, and then we're heading directly for Brookhaven."

Aaron raised his hands, "Have I ever steered you wrong?" He looked at me, "Come along Jake, just like old times."

I obeyed and followed him through the front doors as the other three came behind me and took a sharp left. Aaron and I walked down the empty bare roads to our destination. The events of everything that happened in the hospital was still fresh in my mind, the monsters, "Aaron, do you know what's happening?"

"What do you mean? This damn fog? I've never seen anything like this, this fog is weird."

"Yeah…And…You haven't seen anything else?"

Aaron was silent, "Silent Hill is a weird place. Yes, it's a really beautiful place, but it has a dark history."

He was avoiding the question, not wanting to answer. Had he seen monsters too? But I had tried to shove those feelings and screams deep inside me as we made our way down the road…


	13. Something Wicked This Way Comes…

**Silent Hill: Resonance**

 **Chapter 12: Something Wicked This Way Comes…**

 _Ribbit. Ribbit. Ribbit._

My ears perked up almost like a dog when I heard those… _frogs?_ I was simply a couple buildings down from the Town Centre which Darko instructed me to go through to get to the docks. Bennett, Collard, and Petross were taking the sewers, but we would all end up in the same place that Aaron called, "the Resort Area". My guess was that tourists would flock to this area with the restaurants, motels and hotels, the lighthouse and the amusement park.

I was certain that Aaron tried to ditch me in the fog several times by attempting to speed walk and attempted to distract me by pointing and describing storefronts and local landmarks to me. I made a specific point to keep my eyes on him and try to stick as close as possible to him without making it clear that I was doing so. However, somehow, he got the better of me and before I realized it I was alone again.

I cursed my stupidity for letting my guard down. Again I walked down the empty roads and streets in anxiety for any more beasts lurking around, but it was relatively peaceful. It was a long walk to the Town Centre, but I bit my lip at the realization that the front doors were locked and beyond the glass was pitch black.

In fact, I had to use the key Darko gave me to unlock the security gate. Aaron hadn't had the key, which made me wonder how he was going to get to the docks. I sighed deeply, Takacs was right, I couldn't trust him. But that didn't mean I could necessary trust Darko either. They both wanted to order me around back and forth like I was a puppet. From here on out, I would keep my wits about both of them and only trust the law enforcement… _But what if I couldn't trust them, either?_

Now that the gate was out of the way, I reached for the front door. It was locked of course, but I didn't have a key for this. I shrugged and decided to go with the next best thing by swinging my pipe, shattering the glass door and walking through it.

 _Brrr ring ring ring ring! Brrr ring ring ring ring!_ _Brrr ring ring ring ring!_

Despite the mall having been closed several years, the old alarm system must still be intact. It sounded corroded and decayed, but it still did its job. However, as soon as I entered the lobby the alarm died swiftly. Switching on my flashlight to find a small and cramped lobby, the once bright neon colors were now dull and dirty. A faint light managed to seep in from the broken skylights. A large map sat in the entranceway, but it was behind a thick plastic casing that I couldn't break.

It was a rather small shopping center of only fifty stores, mostly small local businesses. A food court was on the second floor. In fact, there was only one anchor store, but even it seemed small and didn't have much to offer.

Two escalators led to the second floor, their glass railings had been smashed and shattered into a million crystals among the ground. The tiles in front of the escalators had been ripped apart and I could see into its mechanical workings. I walked up the stagnate escalators to the second story, the _crunch_ of the glass and other elements under my feet for every step. Reaching the second floor, I sighed to find the Centre had been looted to Hell and back.

Looters smashed and grabbed anything that was worth a penny. Scrappers had even managed to rip out the handrails on the second floor, leaving no barrier between the floor and a hole to the first. It looked as though they had ripped out and stolen any scrap metal they could get their hands on. The mall was completely stripped.

Broken and shattered glass lay everywhere from broken storefront windows. Small puddles brimming with moss and algae were common. _RIBBIT. RIBBIT. RIBBIT._ More frogs? Yes, Aaron had told me that the elevator shaft had flooded and that frogs had moved in to make it their home. It was fascinating how nature took back over mankind's abandoned settlements and creations.

This was such a surreal experience for me. Every little sound vibrated and echoed violently down empty halls before being drowned out by the frogs. Former stores and businesses were now simply empty husks: Kazanian Jewelry, the Museum Watch, Cospa.

I found my way into the food court. The only thing worth mentioning was the lonely tables and the restaurants that would definitely fail the FDA inspection. A couple fast food chains, a Happy Burger, a Mexican food place, and even a pizzeria. My stomach growled loudly at the thought of food, and it was only then I began to think about how long it was when I last ate. _Ugh, this town is full of monsters! How could I just sit here and eat pizza!?_

The last time I had eaten was breakfast this morning…The breakfast I made for… _Joey_. Christ, I couldn't even believe that I had forgotten about him while wrapped up in all this. What must he be thinking right now alone at home? The echoes of my voice bounced off the wall, "Joey…I'm so sorry. I'll be home soon, I swear."

Feeling like shit for forgetting my main reason for wanting to leave Silent Hill, I had no choice but to renew my resolve and continue onwards through this mall. Although my gut told me that we would continue to be stuck in this town much longer than I intended, I knew that every step we took was one step closer to leaving.

And, my god, did I want to leave…

When I finally made my way out of the Town Centre through a fire escape, I found myself in the back alley where they loaded and unloaded goods. A large pickup truck had seen better days – its outsides were rusty, its insides were wet and moldy, and its tires had been shredded to mere strips. It was, however, blocking the mouth of the alleyway. I had to suck in my stomach and scrape my back against the brick wall to finally slip through.

I had to quickly make my way down Wein Street, down Acadia, across Toluca down to Sanford until I found myself in the Resort Area. I could simply imagine the bright and brilliant sun shining down, warming and tanning my skin as I walked down the perfectly paved roads. Vendors and merchants selling food and knick-knacks. Hundreds of boats and ships slowly drifting across Toluca's fine blue waters…

I was taken out of my utopian fantasy when I walked right into police tape and tripped on the pavement foolishly. I was hoping nobody saw me, then I heard, "Ha! What a dumbass!"

I stared up angrily to see Aaron, carelessly flipping through a newspaper while leaning against a police cruiser. Standing up and approaching him, Aaron announced, "City councilman Mason Wilson resigned yesterday after footage surfaced of him partaking in a drunken orgy with…Wow… _Lucky bastard_."

Ignoring the crude comment, I inquired about the empty street, "Where are Bennett, Collard, and Petross?"

"They took off in the ambulance already. They have more ground to make up for, so they headed off early. Toluca is a _big_ lake!"

"Well, where the hell did _you_ end up?" I demanded to know, angrily knowing that he would probably come back with another smartass remark.

Aaron simply shrugged as he threw the newspaper down, "I had to return home and clean up the mess that _some asshole made when they broke in!_ "

I was stunned for a second. _How the hell did he know it was me!?_ I didn't leave anything, and I doubted Aaron was a forensic specialist that could match the smallest of my arm hairs to me. I relaxed and decided to play stupid, after all, he didn't _directly_ accuse me, "Wh-Who do you think it is?"

Aaron sighed, "I don't know, but...It doesn't matter," He made a grandiose motion towards the two open garages. The two garages had been forcibly pried open, splattered with police tape and crime scene markers. The common sight of police cars and FBI cruisers littered the street.

"Those…are the east and west garages?" I asked, "One of the stashes of PTV in Silent Hill. Bennett told me."

"Here, Alchemilla, and the Devil's Pit."

"Speaking of Devil's Pit…I guess we should get to the boat and make our way there."

He nodded as we headed to the docks, which were in surprisingly good condition. I figured because they were so heavy in tourist's foot traffic, the town had a special interest in it. Although...A nagging thought in my mind lingered, _how much of this town was improved and kept up by the PTV profit?_

It didn't take long to find Darko's speedboat, it was the nicest boat situated in the area. Aaron simply leaped inside whereas I slowly stepped in. I had to take a second to adjust to the swaying waters.

I made my way to the steering wheel and took out the key, however, I stopped in realization and looked sheepishly at an expecting Aaron, "Shit…I…Is driving a boat the same as driving a car? I've neve-"

"Oh. My. God!" Aaron swung his arms dramatically into the air before rudely snatching the keys away, "Here! Move!"

"Well do you know how to drive it!?" I asked testily.

Aaron spun his head to look at me, "I pay more in income tax than you make in a year!"

I opened my mouth to object, only to silently close it in the resignation of the fact he was probably right. Then the thought of, "Wait, how does that answer the que-?"

 _VRROOOOOM!_

The engine came to life with a loud roar as the boat began its journey across Toluca Lake, taking us with it. The docks behind us faded and materialized away in a demonic haze of black fog.


	14. Faster, Pussycat! Kill! Kill!

**Silent Hill: Resonance**

 **Chapter 13: Faster, Pussycat! Kill! Kill!**

 _Vrrooooom!_

The sound of the speedboat zipping across Toluca's waters was the only sound I could hear as I took a moment to relax on Darko's boat. Using the loud motor to my advantage, drowning out any wriggling thoughts in my head, I simply laid back. My head resting on the back of the seat, this was the first time since I've been here where I could just not do anything…And it was relaxing.

God, I felt as though I had been through Hell and back, as if the town _itself_ were playing some sick joke on me. And the second something had become a little clearer, something else came in to bewilder me.

There were the police: Bennett, Collard, and Petross. They were helping me, of course, they make an oath to protect and serve but…I had been told stories and read newspapers about the very police and government of this town perverse with corruption. What stops _these_ officers from doing the same?

There was Darko Takacs: A city council member who was hellbent on getting the police and FBI out of Silent Hill – even giving us the keys of his speedboat we were in right now. I have no doubt he has ulterior motives – he was a suspect in the PTV trade, but was caught with nothing red-handed for now.

There was Aaron Trinidad: His family had started in the PTV trade many years ago before their company became "legitimate". He was very suspicious and knew a hell of a lot more than he let on. I was amazed by the great amount of…not maturity, not intellect…but _resourcefulness_ he had for a seventeen year old.

And there was me: Jacob Ryan, twenty-nine, and in the middle of the most fucked up experience of my entire life. Was I making my own moves, getting one more step closer of getting home to Joey? Or was I just a puppet, whose strings are being pulled by some malevolent force, trapping me further in the webs of this hellhole?

 _Friend or fiend? Is anything as it seems in this town?_

Aaron's back was turned to me, he was doing a remarkably fine job steering this boat. Although he had no map or compass, he seemed to know exactly where he was going through this supernatural fog. His beige sports coat flapped lightly in the blistering cold breeze that blew across the lake's surface.

I built some courage to ask out loud, "Aaron…What…What exactly do you know about the PTV trade? I mean, for God's sake, you knew where all the stashes were. Is your family really out of the drug ring?"

Aaron didn't respond, I was about to continue my questioning when he answered, "You know…There are a lot of secrets in Silent Hill. Pretty faces hide evil minds. Jake… _You need to be more careful with what you tell people_."

"Wh-What do you mean? Listen, I'm the one that's been running back and forth in this godforsaken town, blindly following orders so I can go home!"

I was going to continue, but I noticed that Aaron had taken his hands off the wheel, allowing the boat to slow down. Looking as if he were using his hands to scribble something down on some paper. He was just writing me off!

I had enough of people giving me the runaround, never telling me a straight answer. Just as I was about to tell him off, Aaron leaned around and handed me the slip of paper. It was hastily scratched, but it was legible.

 _Don't say anything else! Could be bugs hidden in boat._ _MAINE IS A ONE CONSENT STATE!_

I sighed deeply, understanding where he was coming from. However, this only proved his family was guilty in my mind. So, I guess that's what Darko meant when he said not to trust the Trinidads. But Aaron knew obviously knew what was going on and where everything is. He knew this city like the back of his hand.

But if Aaron was involved in the drug trade…Then was he leading us to a large stash? Why would he sabotage his own family's operations?

…Unless it was a trap.

The thought hadn't crossed my mind until now, but now it was the only thing that crossed it. _Oh my God…He's going to try and kill us all._ I tried to think about this rationally, but everything came together too perfectly. Suspicion and paranoia, evil whisperings in my ear, they all accumulated to this. I didn't know what to do, _expect the pipe in my hand felt extraordinarily heavy_ …

 _I have to do this now!_

I steadily stood up, pipe ready and in hand while his back was turned. Step by step across the boat's floor and surface. The rear-view mirror showed his dark brown eyes were staring straight ahead. Staring straight ahead until his eyes shifted and met _mine_.

As if I had entered bullet time, he slowly reached for the inside of his coat as he spun around. At the same time, I sprinted forward bringing the pipe over my head. As he brought up the gun, I slammed the pipe down on his wrist, lead meeting bone as the pistol violently slipped from his wrist. His fist hit full force against my crotch, knocking the air left my stomach.

Wrapping my arms around his midsection, I tackled him down to a hard corner near the wheel. In a struggle of muscles and fists, we wrestled back and forth. Although I had him pinned in the corner, he was strong.

The boat began to jump and shake. I looked up, through the windshield, and the boat rammed against the jagged rock in front of us. My vision blurred and shook, as the sound of tearing metal and wood, shattering glass, and splashing water filled my ears as I was lifted off the ground and the boat flipped to its side and upside down.

Single temperature waters felt like razor blades all over my skin and face, my lungs felt as though they were on fire, my vision covered in a dark blurry filter. Pieces of shrapnel shot through and floated on the water. Aaron had disappeared, but a trail of blood led me to believe the worst…

 _…Or was that blood mine?_

My vision went dark.

A tickle across my chin and cheeks was the next thing I felt. A feeling from my stomach quickly shot up to my mouth and through my lips. Water coughed out of my mouth as my bloodshot eyes opened. Turning on my side, warm bile and puke followed. Emptying, once more, a very empty stomach.

My hand formed into a fist, the dry sands of a beach slipping through. I coughed and dry heaved helplessly for some time, pathetically, before I turned over and saw Darko Takacs standing a few feet away. He looked out of place, still wearing his dark coat and flannel on a sandy beach. I attempted to stand up, but my legs were too weak, I only collapsed back onto the soft sand.

"That was…something else," Darko began, "I must admit, it's unfortunate what happened to my boat…But what's even more unfortunate is that you disregarded what I told you. There's a fully fueled helicopter at Brookhaven, waiting for takeoff, but instead you're here."

I sprawled out dramatically, all my limbs extending as if I were about to create a sand angel, "Why? So we don't find your drug stash? So Aaron could ambush us? No...That's not how this works. You can't just chase us out of town to protect your sick drug money!"

"If I didn't want you to get here, why would I save your life? Why would I give you mouth-to-mouth?"

"I don't fucking know!" I shouted back in retaliation, "I don't understand what it is! All this _bullshit_! You never tell me anything, all you people ever do is talk in riddles."

Darko crouched down, his face directly looking down to mine, "Then let me make this clear. You need to _stop_. You're going to die if you don't. Now, I am quite aware that your police friends are here as well. So get to Devil's Pit, find the drugs, and then get the hell out of Silent Hill."

He reached inside his pocket and pulled out a map, dropping it next to my side. He reached back in once more and pulled out a small pistol, which he delicately laid on top of said map. He chuckled, "Believe me, Jacob. I am on your side. I'm not pretending, unlike the Trinidad, that having you leave doesn't benefit me. It most certainly does. The Trinidad is doing everything in his power to have you stay."

"Why? I don't understand…" I strained out through a weak throat.

"Good luck, Jacob. I hope I don't need to point you in the right way again." Was all his response as he continued walking down the shore.

I continued to lay on the sand a while longer, completely exasperated and exhausted. But I eventually forced myself up and ready to go. Following the map, I had to head down the road until I hit the Arial tram station.

So, there I was, hair and clothes dripping and soaked with a sickening mixture icy water, sweat, sand, and vomit. My toes were numbing and soles grinding against the rough and beaten asphalt. In my hand, I held my waterlogged shoes and socks. I was moving as fast as I could, but I couldn't bring myself to anything faster than a quick walk. Coming to a quick halt, I slowly peered around my shoulder… nothing but the oppressive fog.

I had finally reached the bridge that would lead my way to the tram. This was madness, why I was still going ahead was unbeknownst to me, but I simply continued to trudge one foot in front of the other. It was the only way I knew now. But through the fog, I did see something...

A corpse. A corpse laid in the middle of the road, it was bloodied and shattered. It was a woman, with dark hair and dark skin. She was wearing a Maine State Police uniform... It was Collard. My heart dropping to the pits of my stomach, I ran to her sprawled body. A man's voice broke my ragged breathing, "It-It was an accident!"

I turned my head and leaning against the guardrail was Jonathan. His hands visibly shaking. I exploded once more, "Holy Christ! Oh my God! Jonathan, what the hell did you do!? Don't tell me..."

"It was an accident! I thought...I thought...I thought she was one of them!"

"One of who!? You killed her! _You fucking killed her_!"

"One of the monsters! She... She wasn't human! And when I killed her, she was!"

I was relieved for a second, I wasn't going insane. Jonathan had seen these monsters too! But... If these beasts could somehow _shapeshift_ , things changed. I brought my head down in a quick attempt to regain my thoughts.

I raised my head back up to see the corpse was still there. But... the blood was gone. And instead of Collard, it was Petross. Collard was now in Jonathan's place, "She-She just stopped."

 _No. No. No. No no no no no. I'm going crazy. This isn't right. I...I can't be... I'm hallucinating._

The corpse was gone now. And Collard's place was now replaced with Aaron, leaning over the rail into the rough waters below. He looked back at me, tears welling in his eyes, "I-I don't know what happened. He just slipped. I don't even know how he fell over the rail, it happened so fast!"

I forced myself, step by step to approach Aaron's position. Unknowing of what awaited down below. It was a man, mangled and slashed and limbs and bones bent in impossible contortions on the rocks below. The heavy waters slamming against his lifeless body. His black hair had covered his eyes, but his dark green button up was stained with blood - _It was me_.

Then... _Who was I?_

I looked at my hands. They were pale and white and they didn't belong to myself. My thoughts, my experiences, my soul was trapped in another man's body.

I ran.

I ran as fast as I could, a final burst of energy took off in me. My bare feet were abused, chaffed, muddied, and splintered. But I continued running until I found myself at a small gas station far down the road.

Not even bothering to keep up appearances, knowing damn well nobody would be inside, I charged in. Finding a restroom in the back, I walked in and instantly checked myself in the cracked and chipping mirror.

I was me. I was...a wreck. Deep, hollow, black soulless circles hung underneath my eyes. A patchy five o' clock shadow grew across my cheeks, jaw, and chin. A cold condensation escaped from my chattering teeth.

My hands reached for my soaked second skin. Dropping the coat to the floor with a flop. Shaking hands and fingers unbuttoned my shirt and unzipped my pants. Peeling off my tank top, a freezing breath of air brushed across my exposed chest and stomach. So there I stood, staring into my dark eyes, glossy with tears…

 _I was myself._


	15. With Friends Like These

**Silent Hill: Resonance**

 **Chapter 14: With Friends Like These…**

 _Cough, cough! Cough!_

A loud and scratchy clearing of my throat resulted in the spitting out of a wad of phlegm in the sink. Licking my chapped lips, I saw myself in the mirror…But not the adult me, but rather my childhood self. The same pitiable kid who wanted nothing more than to leave. Leave his home, leave his school, to take his brothers and leave everything behind in the stupid fantasy that there would actually be a "Happily Ever After"…

Well, I left…And now I'm stuck here.

 _Are you happy?_

A furrowed brow and clenched teeth was the last thing I saw in the mirror before my tightened fist slammed into the glass, shattering and breaking into several shards.

 _Smash! K-shh!_

A sharp sting of pain shot through my hand and wrist as I shielded my eyes, protecting them by shutting them closed. The crystals of glass fell into the basin, crushing into even smaller pieces. Slowly opening my bloodied fist, the slit and scratched side of my hand led to small streams of blood welling into my palm and down my wrist and arm, soaking into my skin and hairs.

I inspected the trail of blood running down my arm, down to my elbow where it dripped onto the cracked tile floor. I bent over and grabbed my wet tank top off the floor. With a loud _RIIIIIP!_ I used my free hand and my teeth to rip the shirt into a large rag. I turned it into a makeshift bandage, wrapping it tightly around my injured right hand.

I was freezing, standing in nothing but my underwear in the chilly restroom. But although I was cold, I felt free. My clothes were still damp, but dry enough to throw back on. It was a pain trying to get dressed with only one hand, but I eventually got my pants on and belt tightened. Following those were my socks and shoes, my shirt and coat. It was too much of a hassle to button up my shirt with one hand, and it hadn't completely dried yet, so I decided to keep it unbuttoned and open.

Catching myself in the intact mirror next to the one I busted, I didn't look sexy or attractive with the unbuttoned shirt, not that it was my intention in the first place. In fact, I looked like a bum. My wet hair looked oily and dirty with sand built into my scalp. My coat was now filthy with sweat and grease, my pants damp and baggy. The messy unbuttoned shirt was the icing on top, the ultimate act of not giving a shit anymore, allowing the whole world to see my hairy chest peppered with scratches.

The gun Darko had given me rested on the sink corner. It was smaller than the Glock I had been using previously. But I could read that it was a Beretta Px4 Storm. Made in the USA. It used 9-millimeter ammo. It was a little silly thinking how Darko just gave it away like that…But he of all people probably knew what was happening in this town.

 _Everyone knew what was happening except for me._ And that bugged the hell out of me…I felt violated, as if everyone were playing a real sick joke on me.

The map was essentially a duplicate of the one Bennett had given me, minus my excessive markings. It was a clean slate, and I doubted I would be returning to the other side of the lake again. I cursed the fact I had lost everything in the crash, my satchel and weapons were gone.

But it was as if Darko had knew I would crash and lose everything. He had a weapon and map ready for me, waiting for me. That thought made my head spin. But I put the gun on safety and placed it in my belt as I made my way outside of the small gas station.

It was a simple walk up the road to reach the Aerial Tram Station to the Devil's Pit. I hadn't encountered anything that seemed peculiar, or _anyone_ for that matter. As I walked up the creaky, moldy wooden steps to the building, my mind turned to Aaron. Was he safe? Was he alive?

Although…Although I couldn't trust him, and my caving into paranoia and doubt would probably lead to him shooting me on sight next time, he was a minor, a little boy, and I couldn't let him get hurt. I laughed, using the term "little boy" to describe a seventeen-year-old, but that's how I saw him. I saw a lot of myself in him…

My thoughts returned to what I was thinking on that boat. About that "malevolent force", the strings that guided my every step through this cursed city. I wanted to get out of here. Darko was right, what was I doing here instead of Brookhaven? Was that force guiding me to the Devil's Pit?

The door had nearly rotted off its hinges when I slowly opened it. This station was old, derelict, crawling with decay. Aaron had said there was an accident in the Devil's Pit some time ago…That the local town people believed that a "curse" was returning.

They were right. The things I had seen during my time here, Silent Hill _was_ cursed.

There was very little to see in the lobby. The room was void of any furnishings besides the reception table. The only other thing worth noting were the turnstiles leading to the next room where I could see the tram waiting for me. However, these turnstiles were rusted shut and all my manpower, what little remained, did nothing to budge them. _No wonder_ , I thought as I noticed the small machine next to the turnstile informing me a ticket cost $20.

"Damn it!" I cursed.

I had lost my wallet in the crash as well. But something had caught my attention at the desk in the corner of the room. Sitting there, as if heaven sent, was a clean and crisp $20 bill. I could recognize Aaron's handwriting,

 _Thought you would need this._

 _-Aaron T._

A smile spread across my lips, something that was becoming rarer and rarer the more time I spent in Silent Hill. The machine sucked the dollar up as the turnstile gave way with a simple push. A tram was already waiting for me, doors wide open.

I was a little uncomfortable, to be honest. I didn't like heights, and this aerial tram didn't look very safe. It was half rusted out, it's paint was chipping, and it looked like as if it had taken a serious beating with a bat. But there was no other way to my destination as I stepped in and the doors shut behind me with a loud _SMASH!_

A sudden jolt and the tram gave way, slowly creaking and groaning as it began its voyage to the Devil's Pit. Screeching on the small intercom gave way to a cheery woman's voice, "Hi! I'm Samantha Powell and I've worked for the Maine State Park Services for nearly fourteen years! You're aboard a tram to the Devil's Pit! A gorge that is 490 meters deep! The Devil's Pit was named a historical park by the Silent Hill Historic Preservation Society in 1945 wh-*sh *a*e, why di* *o* l*av*. Tell the **u** now!"

Static and garbled transmission replaced the woman's voice, I could no longer make her out. But she wasn't the focus of my attention now. That went to a soaked beige sportscoat hanging over a handlebar. It was Aaron's, no doubr. In the windowsill was his golden watch, now cracked and broken beyond repair.

Next to the watch was a radio, a small handheld one. Grabbing it with greedy hands, I immediately spoke into it, "Hello? Can anyone hear me!? Come in!"

"Wh-Who is this?" Came Aaron's voice on the other end.

"Aaron! It's Jake! I followed you here to the Devi-"

"You son of a bitch! What the hell are you doing alive?" I could hear the anger in his voice.

I was taken aback for a second, thinking Aaron was playing some joke. Of course, he had to expect me to follow his footsteps, "Aaron, Darko pulled me out of the lake and-"

"Of course he did! He'll do anything to screw me over, including saving the guy who tried to kill me!"

I tried to quickly explain myself, knowing how short of a fuse Aaron had, "No! Aaron! I'm sorry," At a loss for words, I blurted, "It was a mistake! We were in the boat an-"

"A 'mistake'? Oh for God's sake, man!"

"Aaron…You obviously knew I was coming, why would you leave the twenty?"

"That wasn't for _you_! That was for…someone else."

"Who?"

Aaron stumbled for words before blurting out, "Suck my dick!" and that was all his vulgar response entailed of as he shut off the radio from his end.

I sighed in frustration as I used the clip on the radio to snap it to my belt. I had no idea how long I stood there looking through the hazy tagged window in a daze, but I was finally snapped out of it when the tram came to a halt. The doors squeaked open as I stepped onto the moldy and shattered wooden boards that made up the platform.

I found a set of stairs that I made my way down until I found a tourist center. A small gift shop boasted knick-knacks: keychains, bumper stickers, coffee mugs, t-shirts and postcards. Backpacks were for sale, I grabbed one off the rack and threw it around my shoulder to compensate for my lost satchel. Other than that, however, there was nothing worth any interest.

Outside of the shop was the balcony, overlooking Devil's Pit. However, almost like a miracle, the fog had thinned and dissipated enough so I could look out upon the breathtaking gorge.

What was even more of a miracle was that, even for a minute, I just let go and closed my eyes.

And that was beautiful.

* * *

 **Author's Note: Indeed it was! Doing these author's notes at the ends of chapters aren't really my style, but I just wanted to say at our fifteeth chapter: Thanks to everyone who reads, reviews, and favorites! You give me the motivation to keep going on! We're only about halfway through our story, and there are a lot of open cases and mysteries still left to solve!**


	16. Belly of the Beast

**Silent Hill: Resonance**

 **Chapter 15: Belly of the Beast**

 _Crack. Crack. SNAP!_

Someone… _or something_ …was coming this way…

Quickly looking around, I took cover behind a small vendor's stand that was set up about twenty feet away. I slid into place, a cool breeze running across my damp forehead as I peeked out around the corner, the footsteps got louder and louder until a person came into view. I struggled to get a clear view without revealing myself.

A man, wearing complete black, walked up to the railing I was just at. I couldn't get a clear view of his face, but he didn't look like one of those monsters. No…he looked relatively normal. He looked around a bit until he called out, "Jacob Ryan!? I want to talk!"

 _How the hell did he know my name? This doesn't make sense…_

I had never seen this man before, he was short and had a mop of red hair on his head. A patchy and scraggily beard was plastered on his cheeks. I bit my lip, still unsure of what to do. But what helped me make up my mind was when he pulled out a pistol from under his coat. No, he didn't want to talk at all.

He returned to where he first came from, allowing me to slinkier out of my hiding place and further down the catwalk. A large sign and arrow pointed to the elevators, which I assumed was my next stop down. Making my way, I heard a loud shout, "WAIT! HOLD UP!"

The man had seen me and was making it my way, I sprinted down the catwalk. A gunshot rang out, echoing across the Devil's Pit gorge. I could hear breaking rock near me as the bullet penetrated the surface. I had turned the corner to see two more people, dressed identically in all black. _There were more of them._

I had turned around and continued to run down the breaking and creaking wooden way until I had found the large mechanical elevator. Slamming the rusted doors behind me, I slapped a random button as the elevator slowly made its way down.

 _BANG!_

A bright flash of sparks exploded in front of me as one of the men took a potshot at the elevator. But I was already making my way down by the time they had reached the elevator door, I had escaped them. I leaned against the wall to collect my breath.

 _Who were these men? Why were they dressed exactly alike? Where did they get their weapons from? How did they know my name?_

 _Were they hired?_

The thought simply popped into my mind. And it _did_ connect all the dots. It was just too perfect that they knew I was here and what my name was. And I could only imagine two people doing this…

Darko Takacs or Aaron Trinidad.

Darko obviously didn't want us here. He was angry at the beach that we didn't take off to Brookhaven by now. But he did give me a map and a weapon…Why would he change his mind suddenly and try to have me killed?

Aaron was a wild card. Once my ally and now my enemy…And I wasn't sure he was that. He had the money and the connections to pull something like that off. But he was the one who sent us here to get the PTV…

A crumpled piece of paper sat on the floor. I picked it up and straightened it out, despite its wrinkles, it looked quite new expect for water smudges here and there. Elegant handwriting filled about half the page.

 _Dear, -ar-_

 _I'm sorry, I told -ar-o everything I knew. He offered me safety... He's my un-le after all. I thought I loved you, but you weren't the per-o- I thought y-u were. You're worse t-an the people you're try-ng to stop._

 _I'm not saying I blindly follow our reli-ion's orders, you know I don't. But your family is taking too f-r. Ever since they began fun-i-g our ch-r-h and my uncle handed over his -T- trade, they've gone off the rails..._

 _I'm sorry..._

 _-Lance_

This letter was addressed to Aaron, I was sure of it. Darko handed over his trade to the Trinidad family? I could only assume it had to do with the drugs. Things were beginning to click ... Pieces were coming together one by one and I'd have to confront either Darko or Aaron with this. Though they'd probably just give me the run-around...

The elevator shook as it came to a stop. I had reached around to put the note in my backpack, but it was gone. It must've fell off during my run to the elevator. I shoved the letter in my back pocket as I quickly made my way out into the caverns of the Devil's Pit.

Evil-looking stalactites hung from the roof of the caves, looking as if they were preparing to munch down on me. I had no time to keep sitting here sightseeing, these people were probably right on my tail. I had no idea where I was going, but I just went through random tunnels and walkways until I was certain I was lost. That wasn't my plan _per say_ , but I knew that those men would be lost searching for me as well.

My flashlight managed to stay clipped to my coat pocket through all the disaster, which was a God-send considering most of the lighting in these caverns were either dim or shut off. Nothing but rock and wood was of any note, abandoned mineshafts were tapped off and weaning away any spelunkers with signs of skulls and crossbones. My flashlight turned the caves into an icy wasteland with a blue tint.

Dante's _Divine Comedy_ said the final level of Hell didn't involve fire or demons with pitchforks – rather, it was a frozen wasteland. A frozen lake, to be exact. Trapped in the ice, were the sinners who were guilty of committing the sin of treachery. That's what this felt like – cold, derelict, dark, and above all _isolated_.

I just wanted to go home…

I turned a corner to an open platform where I saw someone. My heart skipped a beat, I hadn't seen them before. I don't think they saw me. He was just standing there, perfectly motionless. Something was off, he was dressed in old miner's gear and held a pickaxe in his hand. I forced myself to move forward, "H-Hello?" I asked.

He didn't turn. And that's when I realized…he was a mannequin.

I took a sigh of relief, and even allowed a short chuckle out. The entire platform was full of mannequins, all holding their pickaxes and in different poses. This must've been a part of the tour or something. In fact, I remember Aaron telling me that Silent Hill used to be nothing but farmland and mines a long time ago.

My attention was then drawn to their pickaxes. These would make great weapons against any monsters. They had a long handle so I wouldn't have to get so close, and they looked like they could hurt like hell. I only had one clip of ammo for the gun Darko gave me, so I would have to save every bullet.

I was disappointed to find out that the pickaxes they were holding were little more than imitations. They were incredibly lightweight and felt as if they were made with some kind of plastic. The wood wasn't even real, it was smooth and painted.

 _Tick. Tick. Tick. Tick._

I looked around the platform I was standing on, trying to see where the noise was coming from. It was getting louder.

 _Tick tick tick tick. Tick tick tick tick._

Wait…I had just realized… _It was coming from underneath the platform._

The loud shattering and splintering of boards as the radio began to go haywire. Like an eruption or a geyser from underneath, sharp splinters, fragments, and chips of wood flew. I automatically grabbed my gun as a new type of beast crawled up from the hole.

I couldn't get a clear view of it, considering it was behind an army of mannequins and my adrenaline was rushing. I did see that it jumped and moved on all four limbs – resembling something of a pig or a spider. Taking a random potshot at the monster resulted in hitting a mannequin. Causing it to fall over and the beast to jump in my direction.

Despite it using all four limbs to walk, it stood tall. Taking another shot, this time the bullet hit the beast as it took a swipe at me. It missed as I jumped back breaking the cheap wooden handrail with a loud _SNAP!_

I fell into a small ditch, my back cracking under the metal rails. The monster crawled to the edge of the platform, jumping into the ditch to my side. Turning over and letting two more bullets into the monster, I quickly rolled away from the counterattack. In a quick haze, I jumped up to get some solid ground.

The metallic rails began to shiver and shake. Softly at first, but then more violently and erratically. The monster swung again, slicing my upper thigh, but nothing too major. The entire track was trembling now. Something was coming along on this track.

Jumping up to the platform, the high-speed minecart roller coaster narrowly missed me. Instead it rammed into the monster, running over it and dragging it along the track for about one hundred feet before discarding its carcass to the side. The loud blare of the radio finally died.

I stood there at the platform, catching my breath.

But then it came again…

The ear-piercing screech drilling directly into my brain and disrupting my sight and sound into corrupted distortions. But the horrid scream covered itself in the form of a loud siren, one that surrounded and encompassed me in its noise.

I couldn't stay on my own two feet anymore. My knees and legs gave way as I collapsed to the floor and fell unconscious.


	17. Nothing Easy About Being a Coward

**Silent Hill: Resonance**

 **Chapter 16: Nothing Easy About Being a Coward**

 _Silence._

I was awake, my legs and limbs and fingers and toes all had feeling – pain. It was tolerable, but I refused to open my eyes. I knew what I had seen last time I had heard the siren as if I were transported to another world or dimension disconnected from our own.

But I felt it, the slimy, sick, tingly, crawling of termites onto my arms. Big, fat, and plump, they began to sink and slip into my open palm and shirt collar. I ignored them the best I could, still refusing that I was scared to open my eyes. They made their way onto my bare stomach and chest, slipping into my belly button, squirming around and getting caught in my chest hair.

I shot up to my feet, unable to take the disturbing and sick feeling anymore. In swift and grand gestures, I swiped and picked off every ugly termite that had begun to nest on my body. Many I knocked off, others I smashed and slapped into a puddle of goo. I had quickly buttoned up my shirt and used my shoe to slam down on the buggers. I gave an exasperated sigh, "Oh, God!"

The platform I was on was now infested with countless termites, more than before. Eating and rotting and consuming the wood underneath my feet. The proportions of the Devil's Caverns were distorted, the ceilings were impossibly high and the countless jagged and cracked stalactites looked deadly. Moist moss stuck and clung to the cavern walls. I was back here, in this hellhole.

I made my way to the tracks where the mine train had slammed into the monster before. Unknowing of where to go next, I went down the tracks, careful to watch every step. Termites had invaded the wooden parts of these tracks, I stuck to the steel. The Devil's Pit Mine had been transformed into an almost steampunk-like location – Steam, pipes, gears, and tools moved and shifted in incredible contortions. It would make sense for a mining operation to use equipment, but not to these extents. This was something else that was manipulated.

This weird world must've perverted this too…

How did I end up here again? The sound of the cursed siren led me here. But…there was seemingly no way to stop this siren. Or to tell when it was coming.

Step by step I made my way down the railroad, walking through tunnels of pipes and machinery. I reached into my back pocket, pulling out the letter I had found in the elevator – the one that was penned by "Lance". The same one I was sure was addressed to Aaron. I read the letter, but something was…different.

 _Dear, -ar-_

 _I'm sorry, I told -ar-o everything I knew. He offered me safety... He's my un-le after all. I thought I loved you, but you weren't the per-o- I thought y-u were. You're worse t-an the people you're try-ng to stop._

 _I'm not saying I blindly follow our reli-ion's orders, you know I don't. But your family is taking too f-r. Ever since they began fun-i-g our ch-r-h and my uncle handed over his -T- trade, they've gone off the rails..._

 _I'm sorry..._

 _-_ _ **YOU ARE IN A NOVEL**_

I rubbed my eyes. _What?_ I looked back at the crinkled and crumpled paper.

 _ **YOU ARE IN A NOVEL.**_

I think…I think…I think everything just clicked together. A sharp pain in my head was damn near confirmation of the fact.

The peering and staring over my shoulder, the feeling I had of being _violated_ – as if my every step, thought, and sound I heard was being exposed and written on a page. I could see the manuscript and words being typed in the corners of my eyes. I could hear the light _tap tap tap_ of the keyboard, documenting my every move, in the far reaches of my mind. My brain being pried open, lobotomized, and being told my every instruction step by step. Then countless eyes read and follow and mock and laugh and critique and understand my every action I've made in this town.

I was forced to stuff the letter back in my pocket. I had no time to lollygag, I had to get the hell out of this nightmare I was in. Picking up speed, I jogged past the moving pipes and parts moving with no symmetry or grace. There was seemingly no end to this tunnel, but I knew it had to lead me somewhere. But no matter where I tried to look, I saw nothing but darkness at the end.

But then a light…A bright light at the very far fringes of the tunnel. It was coming closer, the ride was returning. The loud sound of a train filled and echoed down the tunnel. No, this couldn't be the minecart ride, this was an actual train! The tunnel was impossibly bright, I was blinded and not even covering my eyes could bring relief.

 _BUZZZZZZZ! FUZZZZZZZZZZZ! KISSSSSSHX!_

The radio shot out it's warning once more as my eyes adjusted back to normal light. I was on the train now, seemingly teleported from the tracks. Down on the other side of the car was a monster – a similar one who I faced at the school – one who was patched together with makeshift surgery.

This one wore a cleaver, stapled onto its wrist. Instinctively, I pulled out the pistol from my belt and aimed. The clip was half empty and I knew I had to make every shot count. I aimed down the iron sights and pulled the trigger.

A sharp turn on the rail caused the train to swerve wildly, throwing me on my side. Holding onto a pole, I took a quick aim and shot. I supposed I had hit the beast, it's yelp echoed down the car. The train went back on a straight path, keeping it still. I took another shot, but this one missed and hit the metal bar.

 _Tick. Tick. Tick._

"Fuck!" I cursed as the beast began to get back up.

I opened the door behind me, getting into the next car and shutting it behind me. I sprinted down the narrow way, avoiding the large amounts of rubble and trash sown across the floor.

 _BANG! BANG! SCREEEEECH!_

It had literally torn the door off its hinges. It stumbled in, as I bent over and threw a random suitcase in its directions. It responded by simply knocking the suitcase out of the air. The door leading to the next car of the train was jammed – it wouldn't open.

A loud screeching, the tearing of metal and aluminum, chains breaking, and pipes shattering. I was thrown into the air as if the train had fallen off a cliff. I was thrown back to the floor as the train came to a screeching halt. At a standstill and with a loud _DING!_ the train doors opened and allowed passage off the cursed ride.

I instantly made my way off and onto a wooden platform as the train took off again. I looked at the train leaving. It wasn't the minecart roller coaster ride from before, this was a full-fledged train like one would see in a subway. What the hell? What kind of games were being played here?

I gave myself a few minutes to catch my breath, minus a quick break to kick off the termites that were beginning to crawl on my shoes. No idea where to go next, I made my way down a walkway to wherever it led. Putting my weight on the cold rail, I simply continued to walk further into the depths of this place. Getting even more lost than I was before.

 _Where are the drugs?_ I wondered, _Where's Aaron? Where are Bennett, and Collard, and Petross? Another one of Aaron's lies?_

I wouldn't be surprised if they were - I attacked Aaron because I was expecting some kind of ambush. The men in black were still fresh in my mind. But other than that, there were no answers, but plenty of questions. The only answers came in the form of ugly moss covering the rock, seemingly moving moss. They looked like faces, screaming and talking through the moss, tortured and in suffering. It was beginning to make me sick to my stomach, I actually had to turn away.

My eyes blurred, I cursed everything that had been happening in Silent Hill, everything that separated and stood in the way of me getting back home to Joey. He was home alone, all alone, and I hated myself for leaving him like that.

 _Right…Joey._

I wondered what Joey would think about this world? This hellish place was not real, but it wasn't a dream either. It was…on the border of both reality and a falsehood. An alternate dimension, the feeling in the air was so different than our own. I was in some kind of haze inbetween.

But it was here that I was pulled to every time I had heard that siren. The second time I had heard it, the first being at Midwich. It was almost as-

CRACK!

A sharp and blunt hit to the back of my head. My legs went numb and weak and I fell to the floor. Blackness…


	18. The Town that Dreaded Sundown

**Author's Note: Let me just begin this chapter with an apology – I take GREAT pride in my work and in my stories and if you've noticed a notable drop in quality with the last few (3-4) chapters, I've noticed it too. There have been MANY personal problems as of late including two deaths in the family and with Christmas and New Year's. With this chapter, I hope to get back on track with normal weekly updates every Monday around 5:00pm PST. Thank you all for sticking with it and coming back.**

 **Silent Hill: Resonance**

 **Chapter 17: The Town That Dreaded Sundown**

 _SMACK!_

A distant voice, murky but still clear enough, as if I were submerged in water. The muscles in my face slowly began to move and work in function, "Jake…Jake! Come on! Wake up!" The feminine voice rang.

My vision finally came to and cleared as I saw a familiar redhead looking down on me. It was Luisa, I wasn't alone anymore. And although I was still a bit out of it, it brought a smile to my face that I wouldn't be isolated in this hellhole.

However, despite the fact I had barely been conscious for less than a minute, I saw that the world had shifted back to its normal forms and contortions. The cave walls were a dull gray rather than the heavy moss, and the ceiling was back to a flat surface rather than violent edges and sharp spikes. Again, was I dreaming? Or was this dream becoming a reality? That fact that I couldn't tell the difference anymore scared me.

Petross spoke, "Oh, Jake! Oh thank God! I'm so sorry. I thought you were one of these freaks who tried to attack me!"

I gave her hand a squeeze as a sign of forgiveness. Through gritted teeth I asked, "F-Freaks?"

"Yeah, these guys dressed in all black. There must've been five or six of them."

"Shit, yeah. I've seen them. They tried to get me too."

"Here, let me help you up!"

I took her extended hand and got up on my own two feet. I had to look around to make sure I truly was back here, back in reality. I took a sigh of relief but with a sense of urgency I spoke, "We…we need to get out of here. Drugs stashed away or not, it's not safe." I attempted to keep my emotions under wraps, but I was less than successful.

Petross nodded, "We need to head to Rosewater Park. That's west of here, in South Vale. That's where Bennett and Collard are."

Despite my groggy state, I raised an eyebrow, "I thought the three of you took the ambulance together. How are you here, and they're all the way in South Vale?"

"They attacked us, Jake. Those men in black." She told me, rather curtly, "I don't know how, but we got separated. I finally got Bennet in on the radio and he told me that Collard and him had managed to get away and were at Rosewater. Bennett ordered us to drop the mission here and get back. I was a little worried when you didn't respond back, so I came in here looking for you."

She hesitated for a split second, "He wants Aaron Trinidad and Darko Takacs in custody."

"Custody? Under what circumstances? What crime did the-"

"I asked him the same thing. He said just to do it. These are unordinary circumstances and he's convinced that Aaron and Darko know what's going on. I guess it must be because they're locals."

I nodded, "Yeah. You're right. I've gotten that vibe from them. You ask them a question and they answer in riddles and cryptic bullshit."

Although I was apprehensive about the thought of arresting Darko and Aaron, I was relieved at the idea that Bennett and I were on the same page of thinking. No way Darko and Aaron were as innocent as they made themselves out to be. I rubbed my head, "Damn, you got a good shot at me."

Luísa frowned, putting a hand at the back of my head, "I'm sorry. I really thought you were a bad guy. Let's just get out of here and we can rest if you need to. The exit is just this way."

The two of us, arms wrapped around each other walked down the cave system. I don't think it was the head wound that made me so weak – rather I think it was the stress and drop in adrenaline that was rushing through me from my previous encounter with the monster and the horror world. That was the second time I had seen that aberration imposed on the world.

The Devil's Pit ended in a rather large cavern, with an old rickety wooden door acting as the exit. In this large cavern was a natural lake that had formed, a sign with a paragraph of information told visitors about the lake but I didn't pay it any attention. Instead, I was paying attention to a grieving Aaron…and the dead body he was keeling over.

Aaron had lifted the shirt above the belly button and stroked his hands across bare stomach, while his other hand worked on the boy's hair. Stroking his hands in an almost involuntary fashion, as if he were trying to stroke the boy to sleep. Blood had contaminated the portion of the lake – turning it into a rust color. Aaron mumbled something to himself, something I couldn't make out.

But he looked up and saw us. He was visibly shocked, reeling back and stammering until he finally let out, "I-I…I…I didn't…I didn't do it."

Petross shook her head, "I don't know what the hell happened or who did it." She began to stumble over her words as well, obviously shocked and uncomfortable over the scene in front of her, "B-But, you're under arrest."

She pulled out her handcuffs and with a loud _clink!_ cuffed Aaron's left wrist. Aaron shoved Petross away and backed up in a panic, "Don't fucking touch me!" He ordered, with only a cuff on one hand, the other dangling freely.

He slowly backed for the exit as Petross got up. Backing up almost like a dog cornered - Aaron slowly began to reach for behind his back, "HE HAS A GUN!" I yelled, the loud echoes ringing across the pond and cave.

In a split second, bright flashes from muzzles lit up the grotto and reflected off the lake. I jumped for cover behind the sign, it was better than nothing. Both Trinidad and Petross shot back and forth for what felt like forever – but couldn't have been more than twenty seconds.

The last of the fight died down when Aaron escaped through the old door. The smell of gunpowder and soot remained in the air as I rushed to Luisa's side, "God, are you okay?"

She nodded, "I'm fine! I'm fine. He's not as good as a shot as I expected him to be."

I felt her hands – shaking, "I'm not scared!" She barked, "It's…just the adrenaline."

She gave a deep sigh and cracked her knuckles after she returned the gun to her holster. Her face looked strong, but her eyes told a different story, "You know…In the academy, they say your gun is your last option. You shoot to kill. And I know he started the fight first, but I don't know if I could live with myself if I killed someone so young."

I didn't know how to respond with nothing more than a simple rub of the back. She asked for a minute alone as I walked over and inspected the dead body. I leaned down in the same position Aaron had to get a better look – I was no CSI, but I tried to look for any clues.

There was no outward sign of any attack or trauma, but there was no pulse as well. The blood that had seeped into the water proved that there had to be injury somehow. Again, same as Aaron I ran my hand through the blonde boy's hair.

 _Wait…I've seen you before. But where?_

I ran through my memories as if they were a VHS tape, but I couldn't pinpoint where I had seen this young adult before. He was cold – but I didn't know if he had been dead a long time, or it was the water. His face and body still had color, however, which led me to believe the latter.

Petross had come over and did a quick inspection as well. She couldn't come up with much without any communication to get a CSI team over or anything like but. But she managed to come up with a male in his late teens that died within the last few hours. She looked up at me, "I hate just leaving him here, but there's nothing more we can do."

Once we finally made our way outdoors, we both had to switch on our flashlights. The fog was gone, but it was replaced with pitch blackness. Nighttime must've come during my time in the Devil's Pit, and it made its presence known, "What time is it?" Petross asked.

I shined my light on my wristwatch, "Eight thirty-three. No…That's wrong, my battery must've died."

"There is no time in Silent Hill." A voice emerged from the blackness, "At least not time as we consider it."

A frantic scanning of the nearby area with our flashlights found none other than Darko Takacs sitting calmly on a nearby bench. He peered over at us, "You see, here in this Nation of Sin, they see time linearly. There is a 'past', 'present', and a 'future'. But we need to expand our horizons and see time as a circle, looping and repeating infinitely." He moved his fingers in a circular motion.

Darko had a strange habit on over-enunciating letters in words, making sure that every letter was heard and pronounced. I wasn't sure of that's how he talked, or it was an accent of some kind. He chuckled, "Jacob, how do you know your watch is broken? Or that your battery is dead? What if all your time here was spent in a single minute, at eight thirty-three, and all your time here was spent in a loop, the same exact minute looping repeatedly."

He pushed himself off the bench as Petross spoke, "Why don't you sit back down, Darko?"

His eyebrows raised in a mix of curiosity and surprise, "Why of course, Officer Petross." He did so.

 _Crreeeeeak._

Darko relaxed and threw his leg over his knee, "What happened in those caverns? Those loud gunshots? Aaron Trinidad running out like he just saw a ghost?"

"I'm asking the questions here, Darko!" Petross shot back.

Darko simply smiled and cracked his neck, "Shoot."

Petross opened her mouth to talk, but the words were caught in her throat. She was at a loss for words, so I jumped in and began the questioning, "What the hell do you know?"

A cocked eyebrow was all my response entailed of, "What do you mean? I know many things."

I pulled out the pistol, the one that Darko himself gave me. Relishing in the irony for a bit, I was expecting Luisa to tell me to put it down – but she didn't. It was rather difficult to hold the weapon in my injured hand, but I managed. Darko turned to her, "Officer Petross, I'm shocked you would let a civilian aim a loaded weapon at me and not do anything to calm the tensions. Whatever happened to 'protect and serve'?"

"Desperate times call for desperate measures. Answer the damn question – What's happening in Silent Hill?"

He scoffed, as if he were sick of answering the question and lost his patience, "You know exactly what happened here. The FBI and the state police with your damn raids chased everyone away. Then you set up your roadblocks and didn't allow anyone to come in. It'll take _years_ to come back from the financial disaster you caused!"

"Well, you can take it out of my paycheck."

"What 'financial disaster'?" I questioned, "Silent Hill isn't the tourist town it once was. Aaron taught me that – the return of the 'curse'. What you really mean is the lost money from the drugs."

Takacs nodded, conceding the point, "Correct…Sadly, but still correct. I fear that the storm you caused will absolutely crash and kill our town economy – _all_ aspects of it. But you don't care, do you? You will pat yourselves on the back for a 'job well done' and return home and never think of us again."

Darko stood up, "Good day you two. I'm sure your colleagues are still waiting for you at Rosewater Park. If you hurry, you might catch Aaron on the run."

Now it was Petross' turn to draw her gun, "Hold it! We're not done here!"

"No." I told her as I holstered mine, "He's just going to talk in circles. Let him go. He's right anyway, they're waiting for us."

Petross sighed in frustration as she put the weapon away. Darko Takacs simply walked away – his figure emerged in the blackness. As he faded away, a hit to my stomach reminded me that we had just lost our two valuable leads. But I knew we would run into them again.

Silent Hill was like that…


	19. Among the Damned

**Silent Hill: Resonance**

 **Chapter 18: Among the Damned**

 _Snap! Crack!...Craaaack!_

The wooden docks and patios of Rosewater Park cracked and moaned and bent under heavy and tired feet. The walk was a long one, one that made our legs ache and feet swell. The reunion wasn't a long one, nor was it one filled with good hugs and "Thank God"s. It was mainly filled with sighs of relief that all of us were here in one piece.

Well, _almost_ all of us, "Aaron and Darko are at war, and we're all caught in the middle." Bennett accused the two men, "Whoever hired those guys in black, they're shooting on sight. They obviously want us gone, so we're going to do just that. It's over, we're heading for Brookhaven."

"We don't even know if the men in black are working for Trinidad or Takacs, though." Collard reminded, "They could be some nutjobs who don't like outsiders in their town. Silent Hill is a big city, but is a close-knit community. Though I never read anything about a damn militia forming though."

I finally spoke up, "It feels to me that both are playing a game with us. Darko wants us gone, so he gives me his boat keys, but then he gives me a gun and a map to get to the Devil's Pit. Aaron wants us to stay, but he's willing to _shoot_ at us."

"Could…Could they be working together?" Petross asked, looking into space as if she were putting the puzzle pieces together in her mind.

Silence. Silence as we all stood there considering the very fact we were being played this entire time. I groaned, "No. That doesn't make sense either! Damn it! I hate being left out to dry like this!"

"You know what, let's move indoors. I don't like being exposed out here, there's probably a search going on right now looking for us." Bennett proposed, "Nothing is going to come out of us all dying."

We concurred and we made our way across and down the street to a bowling alley, Pete's Bowl-O'-Rama. In there, Collard managed to jury-rig a flickering light source. I laid out my map on a nearby table next to some empty pizza boxes, "There," I pointed out, "Brookhaven is just down the street on Carroll. Get in there to the roof, that's where the helicopter is right?"

Bennett nodded his head, "Yeah, but we have a problem," He began as he borrowed my black sharpie and drew a big X, "Carroll is totally destroyed, we'll have to go the long way around."

Jonathan then drew a long arrow surrounding the next block. Down Nathan, a turn right onto Munson, right onto Rendell, and back onto Carroll to the hospital. Petross examined the new route, "We'll have to move fast. God knows what's going to happen in the time we spend here lollygagging."

"Like the demon planning on skipping town?" Came a voice from the doorway - it was the illusive man himself, Darko Takacs. It seemed as if he wanted to keep us this cat and mouse game a little more. I wasn't going to buy shit from him, but Collard inquired.

"What do you mean?" She questioned.

Darko scoffed and shook his head, as if we should've known and were stupid for not. He dramatically raised his hand, "The Trinidad bastard is stuffing his pockets with cash at the Silent Hill Savings Bank right now! What do you really think he's going to do with that money in Silent Hill? No, no, no, that's runaway money! Probably going to retreat to one of his vacation homes in Castle Rock, or his New York penthouse until he can get into contact with his parents! And only God knows what they're going to do!"

Although I despised him, I had to give Darko some credit – He had balls just to walk in on a room that wants to arrest him and hates his guts. In one swift movement, Bennett stood up and pulled his gun at Darko, "Darko Takacs, you're under arrest."

Darko chuckled cockily, "If you insist, Agent Bennett. But I hope I'm not saying anything until my lawyer arrives." He laughed at his own bad joke as he gave to contest.

It was odd- the simple _clack clack_ of the metal cuffs closing around Darko's wrists were music to my ears and brought a smile to my face. Giving me flashbacks to my beginnings in this town, Bennett announced loud and roughly, "You have the right to remain silent. Anything you say can and will be used against you in a court of law. You have the right to an attorney. If you cannot afford an attorney, one will be provided for you. Do you understand the rights I have just read to you?"

"Yes, sir. So, what're you going to do? Are you going to row me in a boat and throw me in a cell in Overlook Penitentiary?

"No, I'm sitting you down right _here_!" Bennett pushed Darko down on a seat, "Now repeat everything you just said regarding Aaron and leaving town."

Darko smiled, "I'm exercising my right to remain silent." He had to hold _some_ kind of power, even if it was his own words.

"Where is the bank on the map?"

Collard peered, "The Silent Hill Savings Bank is right down Nathan Avenue, after Munson but before Neely. It's less than five minutes."

"I'm not leaving him alone here. Officer Petross, keep an eye on him and stay here. The rest of us are going to the bank."

"NO!" I yelled, slamming my fist down on the table, "I want to go home!"

I hadn't realized I had an outburst until I registered the wide-eyed looks everyone else was giving me. I moved quickly to explain myself, "No. I…I…I'm so fucking sick of going back and forth in this god-forsaken town. I need to go _home_ , I need to get to my little brother. He needs me. Darko and Aaron are the only ones keeping us here. Let Darko starve here and let's go! Forget Aaron, all the ways out of Silent Hill are destroyed. He's not going anywhere! Besides, these two were meant for each other."

"I…I didn't know you had a little brother, Jake." Collard finally spoke, "How old is he?"

"Twenty…Twenty-four. I know that sounds ridiculous, but he can't…" I shook my head, my words getting caught in my throat, "He's _broken_ , he can't function normally. His voice, his courage, his resolve – it's been stolen. And we've made so much progress in the last couple years, but…He must be so terrified without me right now, this must've set him back so far…"

"You mentioned him before, didn't you?" Bennett asked, "When I arrested _you_ back in Old Silent Hill. God…feels like forever ago…"

A resting hand landed softly on my shoulder, it was Luisa and she said, "Jake…You're a bystander. An innocent civilian thrown into this entire mess. We're officers and FBI agents, we're sworn to uphold the law. And in times like this, it's only the basic rules of society that keep us from going crazy."

"Jake, _you_ stay here and guard Darko. We'll take care of Aaron, we'll come back and I swear to God we'll get out of here within the next hour."

I looked at Darko, who stared back with a completely blank expression, totally void of any expression whatsoever. Despite his empty look, my heart sank into my stomach and my nerves were screaming at me not to stay, to do anything but sit here and stand watch. I forced myself to shake my head, "N-No. I'll go with you."

"Are you sure? It'll be fast," Jonathan assured, "You've had it rough in your time here. You're not trained like we are."

I looked at Bennett, "No. Let's go. I want to go."

So, it was agreed that Petross would stay behind to guard Darko and the three of us would go to ambush Aaron at the bank. It was a terrifying feeling walking down empty streets under a dark sky. But for the first time, I felt something I hadn't known for a long while…

…Hope.

* * *

 **Author's Note: A short one this week as a prelude to a good one next week! The Truth is coming...**


	20. End

**Hey, everybody. I hate to say this – but I won't be finishing Resonance. School's been very stressful and there's a lot of personal drama in my life right now. I'm done writing fanfiction for this time.**

 **VERY anticlimactic, but here's how I planned out the rest of Resonance:**

· **A confrontation at the bank would result in Aaron being found with a duffel bag full of money and PTV. Monsters attack the group as Aaron escapes, Jake chases him to the roof.**

· **Aaron is arrested and reveals that he is a part of the Order and Darko is its leader. They need to split up to stop Darko and his plan. Darko has escaped custody.**

· **Jake goes to Brookhaven alone to secure the helicopter and their escape. He makes his way to the roof where he is ambushed by Aaron and Darko (working together). Jake is injected with PTV and falls unconscious.**

· **Jake has an odd dream/hallucination about being in a mental facility where he and the rest of the characters are patients. Joey was his therapist – very reminiscent to Kaufmann in Shattered Memories.**

· **Jake wakes up the Historical Society where Aaron tells him he was simply used as bait to get in. The Order base is in Toluca Prison.**

· **After exploring the prison – Jake comes in Darko's office and the entire Darko/Aaron backstory is explored…**

· **Aaron's boyfriend was Lance. Lance was Darko's nephew. Aaron tells Lance his parent's plan to expose the cult, chasing them underground and his parents could keep PTV profits and trade to themselves. Lance tells Darko, who responds by calling in the FBI. Lance was the dead boy in Aaron's arm in the Devil's Pit and the one he found with Aaron in the photo.**

· **A final confrontation with Darko finds he wants to bring back Valtiel. He says how the Order descended into chaos after the deaths of Claudia, Dahlia, and Vincent. The ritual is stopped and Darko is killed.**

· **The group escapes.**

· **Ending: Jake returns home. He admits that he'll never forget the horrors of Silent Hill, but he'll try his best to put it behind him and try to help Joey put his past behind him as well. Years of therapy and work helps Joey slowly get better and over his trauma.**

 **And since we're here – let's look at Easter Eggs in the chapter titles:**

 **Prologue**

 **Into the Fog**

 **City Hall**

 **Dead on Arrival –** A medical term, but also a reference to the hardest game difficulty in Max Payne.

 **Huh, Radio…What's Going on with that Radio? –** Any SH fan should know this SH1 reference.

 **Alchemilla Antipathy**

 **Like a Bat Out of Hell**

 **Battle Plans**

 **A Sign of Their Passage –** Reference to one of the chapters in Max Payne 2, "A Sign of Her Passage".

 **The Monster Lurks –** Reference to the book title found in the bathroom in SH1.

 **Kimble's Legacy –** A little difficult this one, Midwich was based specifically on school in the Arnold Schwarzenegger film "Kindergarten Cop". The main character – John Kimble.

 **Assault**

 **Something Wicked This Way Comes… -** Reference from the book written by Ray Bradbury and the film of the same name.

 **Faster, Pussycat! Kill! Kill! –** Reference to the 1965 film directed by Russ Meyer about three dancers who go on a kidnapping and killing spree.

 **With Friends Like These…**

 **Belly of the Beast**

 **Nothing Easy About Being a Coward –** Reference to JP Sater's words in Silent Hill: Downpour.

 **The Town That Dreaded Sundown –** Reference to the 1976 horror loosely based on the actual crimes attributed to an unidentified serial killer known as the Phantom Killer.

 **Among the Damned –** Reference to one of the SH comics

(Future Tiles)

 **Night of the Hunter –** Reference to the 30 Seconds to Mars song.

 **The Noose Tightens**

 **The Bogeyman's Domain**

 **Address Unknown –** Reference to the fictional TV show from _Max Payne._

 **Remains of the Judgment –** Reference to the Pyramid Head picture in the Historical Society in SH2, "Misty Day, Remains of the Judgment".

 **Prisoner**

 **Do We Look Like Monsters to You? –** Reference to the famous Vincent line in SH3, "Monsters? They look like monsters to you?"

 **Prelude**

 **The End**

 **Again, I am SO sorry for the way this ended. This was a disaster, I admit it first. But thank you all for holding on and reviewing and reading. God bless.**


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